US v. $130,052.00 IN US CURRENCY

• Decision Date: 07 December 1995
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 94-D-1654-N.
• Citation: 909 F. Supp. 1506
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. ONE HUNDRED THIRTY THOUSAND FIFTY-TWO DOLLARS ($130,052.00) IN UNITED STATES CURRENCY, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

909 F. Supp. 1506

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. ONE HUNDRED THIRTY THOUSAND FIFTY-TWO DOLLARS ($130,052.00) IN UNITED STATES CURRENCY, Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 94-D-1654-N.

United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Northern Division.

December 7, 1995.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

John T. Harmon, Asst. U.S. Attorney and Redding Pitt, U.S. Attorney, Montgomery, AL, for plaintiff.

Jeffery C. Duffey, Montgomery, AL, for defendant.

CORRECTED MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

DE MENT, District Judge.

Before the court is the plaintiff United States of America's motion filed March 9, 1995, for summary judgment. The claimant Don R. Minefield responded in opposition to said motion and also filed a motion for summary judgment on April 5, 1995. Thereafter, the United States replied on April 10, 1995. After careful consideration of the arguments of counsel, the relevant case law and the record as a whole, the court finds that the United States' motion for summary judgment is due to be granted and that the claimant Don R. Minefield's motion for summary judgment is due to be denied.

JURISDICTION & VENUE

Jurisdiction is proper under 21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq.¹ The court also has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1345 and 1355.² Personal jurisdiction and venue are not contested.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

On a motion for summary judgment, the court is to construe the evidence and factual inferences arising therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). Summary judgment can be entered on a claim only if it is shown "that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). As the Supreme Court has explained the summary judgment standard:

The plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. In such a situation, there can be no genuine issue as to any material fact, since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the non-moving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The trial court's function at this juncture is not "to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (citations omitted). A dispute about a material fact is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510; see also Barfield v. Brierton, 883 F.2d 923, 933 (11th Cir.1989).

The party seeking summary judgment has the initial burden of informing the court of the basis for the motion and of establishing, based on relevant "portions of `the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions in the file, together with affidavits, if any,'" that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2553. Once this initial demonstration under Rule 56(c) is made, the burden of production, not persuasion, shifts to the nonmoving party. The nonmoving party must "go beyond the pleadings and by his own affidavits, or by the `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; see also Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(e).

In meeting this burden the nonmoving party "must do more than simply show that there is a metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). That party must demonstrate that there is a "genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. at 1356. An action is void of a material issue for trial "where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party." Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. at 1356; see also Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2511.

FINDINGS OF FACTS

The United States filed this civil forfeiture action on December 29, 1994, seeking forfeiture of $130,052.00 under 21 U.S.C. § 881(a)(6).³ The United States alleges that the defendant $130,052.00 in United States currency was used, or intended to be used, in exchange for controlled substances, or represents proceeds of trafficking in controlled substances or was used or intended to be used to facilitate a violation of Title II of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq., and therefore, it is subject to forfeiture to the United States pursuant to § 881(a)(6).

The United States alleges that the following facts and circumstances support the seizure and forfeiture of the defendant properties. Don R. Minefield (hereafter "Mr. Minefield") allegedly participated in a continuing criminal enterprise and cocaine distribution organization, known as the Oscar Andrews Drug Organization. This cocaine distribution organization has been active in the central Alabama region since at least January 1987. During the course of the investigation of the illegal activities of the organization, Mr. Minefield was identified as a multi-ounce trafficker of cocaine for the Oscar Andrews Drug Organization. He worked in the Montgomery, Alabama, area at the direction of Oscar Andrews. During the investigation, controlled buys of cocaine were made by reliable informants from Mr. Minefield. Also, credible and reliable informants have stated that they have seen Mr. Minefield with large sums of United States currency.

On January 9, 1995, Mr. Minefield began a criminal jury trial in the case of United States of America v. Oscar Andrews, et al., CR-94-62-N, in which he was charged with (a) conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (21 U.S.C. § 846—Count I); (b) continuing criminal enterprise (21 U.S.C. § 848(a)—Count II); (c) distribution of cocaine hydrochloride (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)— Counts V, VI and VII). The indictment also contained a forfeiture provision for Mr. Minefield's real estate.

On January 14, 1995, the jury returned a verdict convicting him of all counts and forfeiting his real estate. Thereafter, on June 12, 1995, Mr. Minefield was sentenced on Count II to life in prison and on Counts V, VI and VII to a term of 240 months. These sentences were to be served consecutively. Also on June 12, 1995, Count I against Mr. Minefield was dismissed.

On February 16, 1994, during the execution of a search warrant at the residence of Mr. Minefield, law enforcement officers discovered and seized approximately $10,000 in United States currency. Pursuant to subpoena, law enforcement officers learned that Mr. Minefield maintained custody of two safety deposit boxes located in Montgomery, Alabama. Upon entry to the safety deposit boxes, law enforcement officers discovered and seized the defendant $130,052 in United States currency.

The United States contends that there is no genuine issue of material fact, and it is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law on the claim of Mr. Minefield. However, Mr. Minefield contends that the United States is barred from recovering the defendant property from him on the grounds that (1) this forfeiture action violates the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and (2) this forfeiture action constitutes an excessive fine in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Mr. Minefield contends that he is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law based upon these two claims.

The court will first address separately the two contentions of Mr. Minefield. Namely, whether this forfeiture action constitutes double jeopardy and/or an excessive fine. Next, the court will determine whether the defendant property at issue is subject to forfeiture.

DISCUSSION

A. Double Jeopardy under the Fifth Amendment

Mr. Minefield first contends that because the United States has already proceeded against him in a criminal prosecution, this forfeiture action violates the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and as a result, this action is barred. On the other hand, the United States responds that the controlling case in this circuit is United States v. One Single Family Residence Located at 18755 N. Bay Rd., 13 F.3d 1493 (11th Cir.1994), and thus, this forfeiture and the prior criminal action are a single coordinated action, negating any double jeopardy violation of the Fifth Amendment.

In One Single Family Residence, the Eleventh Circuit found that the United States had not violated the Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause by seeking forfeiture of a claimant's real property under 18 U.S.C. § 1955(d) after his conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1955(b) for his role in the operation of an illegal gambling business on his property.⁴ In that case, the United States filed the civil forfeiture complaint approximately five months prior to the issuance of the criminal indictment, and then filed a motion for summary judgment and forfeiture of the property based on the defendant's subsequent criminal conviction. Despite the lapse of time between the institution of the two actions, the court held that the criminal prosecution did not constitute a separate proceeding from the parallel civil forfeiture action for double jeopardy purposes. Id. at 1499. The court emphasized the fact that the...