State ex rel. Rooney v. One 1977 Subaru Two Door, VIN A26L-910, 450, L-910
| Decision Date | 31 March 1988 |
| Docket Number | L-910,450,No. 16817,16817 |
| Citation | 753 P.2d 254,114 Idaho 43 |
| Parties | STATE of Idaho, ex rel., John ROONEY, Director of the Department of Law Enforcement of the State of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. ONE 1977 SUBARU TWO DOOR, VIN A26, and Ten Thousand Three Hundred Dollars, United States Currency, Defendant, and Mitchell Campbell, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Lynn, Scott & Hackney, Boise, for defendant-appellant. Gar Hackney (argued).
Jim Jones, Atty. Gen., Tyra Hansen Stubbs (argued), Deputy Atty. Gen., Boise, for plaintiff-respondent.
The State of Idaho initiated civil forfeiture proceedings against claimant Campbell's 1977 Subaru automobile and $10,300, U.S. currency, alleging that the auto was used by Campbell to deliver controlled substances, and that the $10,300 was found, during a constitutionally authorized search of Campbell's home, in close physical proximity to contraband controlled substances. The trial court entered a judgment forfeiting both the auto and the money. Campbell appeals solely as to the money. We vacate the judgment as to the $10,300 and remand for further findings.
The following facts were stipulated before the district court.
On February 15, 1986, a burglary occurred at the home of Campbell's deceased parents, Roger and DeEtta Campbell. Campbell reported the burglary to the Twin Falls police. Among the items taken were several firearms. Campbell had offered to aid the police in their investigation of the theft by attempting to locate the stolen guns.
The next day, Campbell approached Norma Hernandez (a police informant) and asked if she knew where to obtain stolen guns; Hernandez agreed to look into this. Campbell offered to pay Hernandez for the guns with either money or drugs. Hernandez then reported Campbell's request to the police, and Hernandez agreed to participate in a "controlled buy" situation.
On February 19, 1986, Campbell gave Hernandez a list of guns he was interested in buying. Two days later, Hernandez took a police-supplied handgun to Campbell's home, arriving at approximately 7:00 p.m. At 7:17 p.m., Hernandez and Campbell left the residence; Hernandez drove her own vehicle, Campbell drove the 1977 Subaru.
Upon arriving at a K-Mart parking lot, Campbell gave Hernandez .282 grams of cocaine HC1, a Schedule II controlled substance. Hernandez understood that the drug was to be given to the person supplying the guns; no money was exchanged or discussed. Hernandez and Campbell then left the parking lot in their respective cars; subsequently, Hernandez relinquished the cocaine to the police.
Later the same evening, Hernandez took more police-supplied firearms to Campbell's home. Campbell entered Hernandez' car, and they drove to a Smith's Food King parking lot where Campbell examined the weapons. Campbell indicated he was not interested in those weapons. Upon returning to Campbell's residence, Campbell gave Hernandez ten tablets of Empirin 3 (which contains codeine), a Schedule III controlled substance, saying, "This should keep your friends happy." After leaving Campbell's home, Hernandez gave the Empirin 3 to the police.
Following these two deliveries, the police obtained an arrest warrant for Campbell and a search warrant for his home. At 10:45 p.m., officers executed the search warrant and placed Campbell under arrest.
The officers searched Campbell's entire home. Various controlled substances and drug paraphernalia were found throughout the house. Marijuana was found in several locations, some of which was located in a "seal-a-meal" package similar to the one containing the money in question. Also discovered were three bottles and one bag of prescription medication which were located in the upstairs master bedroom inside a locked safe. The label on the first bottle was made out to DeEtta Campbell for 60 tablets of Empirin 3 dated January 6, 1986. It actually contained 63 of the tablets. The label on the second bottle was made out to Campbell himself for 30 10-mg. tablets of Valium, Diazepam, a Schedule IV controlled substance, and was dated June 9, 1983. It actually contained 72 5-mg. tablets of Valium and 3 10-mg. tablets of Valium. The label on the third bottle was made out to DeEtta Campbell for 100 tablets of Lanoxin, dated February 26, 1985. It actually contained 40 5-mg. tablets of Valium. The label on the prescription bag stated that it was a prescription issued by the Green Cross Veterinary Hospital for gastrizyme; the bag contained 11 tablets of Empirin 3.
Also found in the master bedroom safe were: (1) $10,000, U.S. currency, in $100 bill denominations, wrapped in a seal-a-meal plastic wrapper similar to the one the marijuana found downstairs was wrapped in; (2) a white envelope containing three $100 bills, U.S. currency; (3) a bank cash advance receipt of the Twin Falls Bank & Trust Company (TFB & T) for $2,500, made out in the name of Roger and DeEtta Campbell and dated December 26, 1985; and (4) various financial records of Mitchell, Roger and DeEtta Campbell.
Dr. Charles Novak had treated DeEtta Campbell from January 8, 1986, to January 17, 1986. She was taking a large number of different medications, including Empirin 3. Dr. Novak advised DeEtta to discontinue all medications except for Lanoxin and a few others not pertinent to the case at bar. Dr. Novak asked Campbell to monitor his mother's use of medications and to remove those not prescribed by Dr. Novak. Campbell agreed to help in this regard.
On August 28, 1985, approximately six months prior to the police search, Campbell had withdrawn $19,525.17 from two savings accounts at TFB & T which were in the names of Roger and DeEtta Campbell, closing both accounts. On October 2, 1985, he withdrew $12,186.08 from another TFB & T savings account in the name of DeEtta Campbell, closing that account.
Campbell was convicted in federal court on May 6, 1986, of two counts of delivery of a controlled substance. The two convictions stemmed from the previously mentioned transfers of cocaine and Empirin 3 to Hernandez on February 21, 1986. Campbell was not charged with drug offenses involving the other controlled substances and drug paraphernalia found during the February 21, 1986, search of his home.
Based on the foregoing stipulated facts, the Idaho district court ordered forfeiture of both the 1977 Subaru automobile, and the $10,300 found in Campbell's safe. Campbell does not contest the forfeiture of the Subaru, but appeals only as to the $10,300.
I.C. § 37-2744, as applicable during the events at issue, 1 read as follows:
....
"(6) All money or currency which shall be found in close proximity to contraband controlled substances....
....
In the district court and on this appeal the state argued that the foregoing statute sets out a "per se" rule that money found in close proximity to a contraband controlled substance is automatically forfeitable without any further showing. On the other hand, Campbell argued both to the district court and before this Court on appeal that the statute created only a rebuttable presumption of forfeitability, rather than making the money per se forfeitable. In his brief on appeal, Campbell states:
The trial court agreed with the state's interpretation of the statute concluding that solely upon proof that the $10,300 was found in close proximity to the controlled substances in the safe, "that all of these items are forfeitable under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act." Alternatively the trial court found that "even if the presumption that cash found in close proximity to contraband controlled substances is subject to forfeiture is rebuttable, Campbell has failed to carry his burden of proof."
Upon review, we are convinced that both parties and the district court misinterpreted the statute. I.C. § 37-2744, at the time of this seizure, required two findings before the $10,300 could be forfeited. 2 First the money must have been found in close proximity to contraband controlled substances; and second, the court must find that the currency "was used, or intended for use, in violation of this [the Uniform Controlled Substances] act." I.C. § 37-2744(d)(2). Thus, in their presentations before the district court, both the parties and the court were mistaken as to the evidentiary requirements and burdens of proof required for forfeiture under I.C. § 37-2744. Because the district court found that, even accepting claimant's interpretation of the statute, the claimant had not met his burden of proof in rebutting what the claimant thought was a rebuttable presumption created in favor of the state, the district court made no factual...
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Cade v. One 1987 Dodge Lancer Shelby 4-door, VIN IB3BX68E3HN436087
...actions are "essentially criminal," however, this view has not commanded a majority. State ex rel. Rooney v. One 1977 Subaru, 114 Idaho 43, 49, 753 P.2d 254, 260 (1988) (Bistline J., dissenting in part).4 21 U.S.C. § 881 provides in part:(a) The following shall be subject to forfeiture to t......