State v. Real Property at 633 East 640 North, Orem, 950459

• Decision Date: 22 July 1997
• Docket Number: No. 950459,950459
• Citation: 942 P.2d 925
• Parties: 322 Utah Adv. Rep. 18 STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. REAL PROPERTY AT 633 EAST 640 NORTH, OREM, Utah, Defendant. Linda Cannon, Appellant.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

Page 925

942 P.2d 925

322 Utah Adv. Rep. 18

STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. REAL PROPERTY AT 633 EAST 640 NORTH, OREM, Utah, Defendant Linda Cannon, Appellant.

No. 950459.

Supreme Court of Utah.

July 22, 1997.

Jan Graham, Att'y Gen., Salt Lake City, and James R. Taylor, Provo, for plaintiff and appellee..

Randall T. Gaither, Salt Lake City, for defendant.

ZIMMERMAN, Chief Justice:

Claimant Linda Cannon appeals from a trial court order forfeiting her interest in real property located at 633 East 640 North in Orem, Utah. The trial court ordered forfeiture of the property under the Utah Controlled Substances Act, section 58-37-13 of the Utah Code, because officers of the Utah County Sheriff's Department seized a one-pound brick of marijuana during a warranted search of the property. Cannon claims that the property was not properly subject to forfeiture because the State failed to offer any evidence to meet several of the statutory elements that must be met before forfeiture is appropriate. Cannon also claims that the trial court erred when it allowed the State to present evidence of subsequent searches at the residence during which officers seized more narcotics. Last, Cannon claims that the trial court failed to enter findings of fact or conclusions of law regarding the constitutional challenges she made to the forfeiture statute. We affirm in part and reverse and remand with instructions to the trial court to enter findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding Cannon's constitutional claims.

We begin by reviewing the facts. On January 15, 1993, Utah County Narcotics Task Force officers conducted a warranted search at a residence located at 633 East 640 North in the city of Orem. During the search, officers seized approximately one pound of marijuana, some cocaine, and several sets of scales. Officers also seized bills with serial numbers that matched the previously recorded serial numbers of money used to make three controlled buys. The controlled buys were, in part, the basis for obtaining the search warrant executed on January 15th. The officers also seized marijuana ashes, stems, residue, and paraphernalia, including a roach clip, a pipe, several partially smoked marijuana cigarettes, and some rolling papers.

As a result of these seizures, the Utah County Attorney filed a verified complaint on July 21, 1993, requesting forfeiture of the property pursuant to the Utah Controlled Substances Act, section 58-37-13 of the Code. On September 8, 1993, officers searched the residence again and seized approximately one-quarter of a pound of marijuana as well as another set of scales. Again, on June 24, 1994, officers searched the residence and once again seized marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine, as well as another set of scales. After a bench trial, the court entered its memorandum decision and findings of fact, order, and satisfaction of judgment, granting all right, title, and interest in the property to the State. Following various post-trial motions and hearings, the court's order became final on September 22, 1995, and Cannon appealed to this court.

The first issue is the sufficiency of the State's proof of some of the statutory elements necessary to warrant forfeiture of property under the Controlled Substances Act. Cannon claims that the State failed to offer evidence to prove (i) that the street value of the drugs seized exceeded $1,000; (ii) the precise property description of the real estate sought to be forfeited; (iii) the identity of the property owner and his or her knowledge of or consent to the illegal activity at the property; and (iv) the nexus between the property and the narcotics. See Utah Code Ann. § 58-37-13; see also State v. A House & 1.37 Acres of Real Property Located at 392 S. 600 E., Nephi, Utah, 886 P.2d 534 (Utah 1994). We address each element in order.

As to the first element, the so-called "street value" of the narcotics, section 58-37-13 of the Code provides various categories of forfeitable property, among them real property used as a "housing, warehousing, or storage facility" for controlled substances. Utah Code Ann. § 58-37-13(1)(i)(iii). ¹ The statute also fixes conditions that must be met for any such forfeiture. One such condition is that the "street value of any controlled substances found on the premises at any given time [must] total[ ] or exceed[ ] $1,000." Id. Cannon argues that the State failed to prove that the street value of the marijuana seized from the property on January 15, 1993, totaled or exceeded $1,000. The trial court specifically found that "the evidence presented showed that the street value of the controlled substances 'warehoused' was in excess of the $1,000.00 threshold."

Because this is a finding of fact, we overturn the trial court's finding only if it is "not adequately supported by the record, resolving all disputes in the evidence in a light most favorable to the trial court's determination." State v. Pena, 869 P.2d 932, 935-36 (Utah 1994) (citing Wessel v. Erickson Landscaping Co., 711 P.2d 250, 252 (Utah 1985)). We conclude that the evidence in this case adequately supports the trial court's finding. Officer Lee R. Fox of the Utah County Sheriff's Department testified that the street value of a gram of marijuana was ten dollars and that the 453.6 grams of marijuana found at the residence would be worth approximately $4,536. Although Cannon points to evidence in the record that a bulk one-pound brick of marijuana could be bought for $800 to $900, this is simply an attempt to reargue the evidence presented to the trial court. Clearly, Officer Fox's testimony is sufficient to support the trial court's finding.

Cannon next argues that the State failed to introduce evidence as to the precise description of the property. While the statute is silent as to how property sought to be seized must be described, Cannon contends that the description must be a proper legal description, either as metes and bounds or by plat map. Here, the State described the real property only by its street address. The verified complaint identifies the property subject to forfeiture as "Residence located at 633 East 640 North, Orem, Utah." We find ample case law to support the State's position that, in the ordinary case, the street address of a residential property is an adequate description of that property for forfeiture purposes. In Park West Village, Inc. v. Avise, this court held that a metes and bounds description was not necessary in an option contract where the street address raised "no serious question ... at trial as to the boundaries of the [property]." 714 P.2d 1137, 1141 (Utah 1986). We have held similarly in several other cases. See Hackford v. Snow, 657 P.2d 1271, 1276 (Utah 1982) (description of property by name "Hackford Farm" in lease/option contract was sufficient to justify specific performance); Reed v. Alvey, 610 P.2d 1374, 1377 (Utah 1980) (description of property as "corner of Hillview and Ninth East" along with extrinsic evidence was sufficient to justify specific performance of realty sale contract). In this case, as in those, no serious question was raised at trial as to the description of the property, and Cannon points to no ambiguity of reference in the description. We see no reason to impose a special requirement in forfeiture cases that does not apply in other situations where the street address unambiguously points out the subject property. The description of the property in this case was sufficient to meet the statutory requirements.

Cannon next claims that the State did not prove in its case-in-chief (i) the existence of any interest in real property to be forfeited, i.e., the State did not introduce any evidence of the title status of the property; and (ii) that Cannon knew of or consented to the illicit use of the property or that there was any nexus between the property and the illicit use. Cannon contends that these are essential elements of a forfeiture case under the statute and that they must be proven by the State to make a prima facie case for forfeiture.

The procedural history of the trial proceedings is relevant to this claim. At the close of the State's case-in-chief, Cannon moved for a directed verdict based on this asserted failure of proof. The trial court took the motion under advisement and allowed Cannon to present her case-in-defense. In laying a foundation for her constitutional claims, Cannon put on evidence of her conviction on drug charges arising out of the January 15, 1993, warranted search that provided the basis for the forfeiture action. Cannon also presented evidence of her ownership of the property in question and testified that she knew of the presence of the marijuana that was seized on January 15th. Cannon further testified that she knew of prior drug sales by a resident of the house. In other words, Cannon put in proof of her interest in the property, her knowledge of or consent to the property's illicit use, and the nexus between the property and the drug activity, all the points she claims were lacking in the State's case-in-chief.

Cannon argues that, upon a motion for a directed verdict at the close of the State's case, the court had a duty to rule on that motion in light of the evidence the State had offered and the statutory elements on which it bore the burden of proof. By implication, she asks this court to ignore the evidence that she introduced in her defense after the trial court took her motion for a directed verdict under advisement. This argument, however, ignores the settled law of directed verdicts. "A motion for a directed verdict is a method of testing the legal sufficiency of the evidence...." See 75A Am.Jur.2d Trial § 907 (1991). A defendant may move for a directed verdict at the close of the plaintiff's case, asserting that the plaintiff has produced no evidence on a necessary element of the plaintiff's case as to which the plaintiff bears the...