Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/486/208/287298/
Timestamp: 2019-10-19 04:35:12
Document Index: 218126115

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 841', '§ 881', '§ 881', '§ 881', '§ 783', '§ 841', '§ 881', '§ 881', '§ 881']

Robert O. O'reilly, Appellant, v. United States of America Appellee, 486 F.2d 208 (8th Cir. 1973) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Eighth Circuit › 1973 › Robert O. O'reilly, Appellant, v. United States of America Appellee
Robert O. O'reilly, Appellant, v. United States of America Appellee, 486 F.2d 208 (8th Cir. 1973)
US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit - 486 F.2d 208 (8th Cir. 1973) Submitted June 12, 1973. Decided Aug. 28, 1973. Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied Sept. 26, 1973. Stay Denied Nov. 5, 1973. See 94 S. Ct. 351.Certiorari Denied Nov. 19, 1973. See 94 S. Ct. 546
Robert O. O'Reilly appeals his conviction, after a jury trial, of violations of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) (1), sale of cocaine. We affirm the judgment of conviction.
The Government contends that the car was seized under authority of 21 U.S.C. § 881(a) (4) which provides for forfeiture to the United States of all vehicles used for the transportation or sale of narcotics classified as controlled substances; that 21 U.S.C. § 881(b) (1) provides that no seizure warrant is required where, as here, the seizure is incident to an arrest; that the agents had observed O'Reilly using this same car in going to and from the point of sale of cocaine on both January 24 and January 28, 1972; that the delay of three months in making the seizure did not vitiate the Government's right to do so under 21 U.S.C. § 881(a) (4).
The cases have uniformly upheld seizures after the initial illegal transaction. United States v. Mills, 440 F.2d 647, 648 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 837, 92 S. Ct. 127, 30 L. Ed. 2d 70 (1971) [criminal case, seizure occurred "later that day"]; Interbartolo v. United States, 303 F.2d 34, 37 (1st Cir. 1962) [civil forfeiture, 17-day time lapse]; Weathersbee v. United States, 263 F.2d 324, 326 (4th Cir. 1958) [civil forfeiture, 3-month time lapse]; Sanders v. United States, 201 F.2d 158, 159 (5th Cir. 1953) [civil forfeiture; period unstated]; United States v. One 1951 Oldsmobile Sedan, 129 F. Supp. 321, 324 (E.D. Pa. 1955 [civil forfeiture, 3-month time lapse]; United States v. One 1952 Ford Victoria, 114 F. Supp. 458, 459 (N.D. Cal. 1953 [civil forfeiture, 3-hour time lapse]; In re One 1962 Volkswagen Sedan, 105 Ariz. 315, 464 P.2d 338, 339-340 (1970) [civil forfeiture, 2 1/2 month time lapse]; People v. One 1951 Chevrolet 2-Door, 157 Cal. App. 2d 30, 320 P.2d 881 (1958) [civil forfeiture, period unstated].
Likewise, the three-month delay between the offense and the issuance of the arrest warrant was not unlawful. In United States v. Wilson, 342 F.2d 782, 783 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 860, 86 S. Ct. 119, 15 L. Ed. 2d 98 (1965), a delay of a little over fifteen months between the offense and the issuance of the arrest warrant, in a narcotics case, was upheld where there was no showing that the delay in obtaining the warrant was prejudicial, or part of a deliberate, purposeful and oppressive design for delay.
Once the car was legally seized, pursuant to the federal forfeiture statute, the arresting officers were entitled to inventory the contents of the car and take possession of the items found therein. In Cooper v. California, 386 U.S. 58, 87 S. Ct. 788, 17 L. Ed. 2d 730 (1967), the Supreme Court held that where an auto was lawfully seized, pursuant to a state statute providing for forfeiture of an auto used in illegal narcotics sales, the later search thereof was reasonable under the fourth amendment and the evidence obtained thereby admissible against Cooper in a narcotics prosecution. In so doing the Supreme Court stated:
"It would be unreasonable to hold that the police, having to retain the car in their custody for such a length of time, had no right, even for their own protection, to search it. It is no answer to say that the police could have obtained a search warrant, for ' [t]he relevant test is not whether it is reasonable to procure a search warrant, but whether the search was reasonable.' United States v. Rabinowitz, 339 U.S. 56, 66 [70 S. Ct. 430, 435, 94 L. Ed. 653]. Under the circumstances of this case, we cannot hold unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment the examination or search of a car validly held by officers for use as evidence in a forfeiture proceeding." Id. at 61-62, 87 S. Ct. at 791.
Likewise, in United States v. Young, 456 F.2d 872 (8th Cir. 1972), this Court upheld a search of a car where there was probable cause to arrest the occupants for passing counterfeit notes and where the vehicle was seized under the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 783, a seizure statute relating to counterfeiting which is similar to the narcotics forfeiture statute. In Young this Court stated:
O'Reilly's defense was that he was an occasional marijuana buyer, and that he was tricked by Armstrong. O'Reilly testified that he went to the Armstrong residence expecting to buy marijuana, but instead, upon his arrival, Armstrong, who was momentarily out of sight of the agents hiding in the closet, handed a condom of cocaine to O'Reilly. When O'Reilly handed it to Armstrong in view of the agents this made it appear that O'Reilly was selling cocaine. By admitting that he had handed the cocaine to Armstrong, but only by way of returning it, O'Reilly indirectly raised the issue of intent. While it is well recognized that evidence of other criminal activity is not admissible, it has also been held that such evidence may be adduced to prove motive or intent, and for certain other limited purposes. See, e. g., United States v. Cochran, 475 F.2d 1080, 1082 (8th Cir. 1973); United States v. Lewis, 423 F.2d 457, 459 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 905, 91 S. Ct. 146, 27 L. Ed. 2d 142 (1970); C. McCormick, McCormick on Evidence, Sec. 190 at 450-451 (Cleary ed. 1972). Indeed, this Court specifically held in United States v. Lewis, supra, 423 F.2d at 459, that " [i]n prosecutions for violation of narcotics laws, the defendant's complicity in other similar narcotics transactions may serve to establish intent or motive to commit the crime charged. . . ."
O'Reilly claims that such a rule should not apply to transactions subsequent to the commission of the alleged crime. However, this Court has recently held that the fact that the other criminal activity took place subsequent rather than prior to the alleged crime "does not on that ground alone make it incompetent to establish intent or motive . . . ." McConkey v. United States, 444 F.2d 788, 790 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 885, 92 S. Ct. 223, 30 L. Ed. 2d 168 (1971). There, as here, some of the subsequent acts occurred three months after the time of the offense alleged in the indictment.
The defendant was charged with the sale of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) (1). These alleged sales occurred on January 24 and January 28 of 1972. Approximately three months later the agents upon seizure of defendant's vehicle pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881(a) (4)-(b) (1) inventoried the seized vehicle and found (1) a onepound, ten-ounce brick of marijuana; (2) fourteen plastic "baggies"; (3) a package of marijuana seeds; (4) a package of marijuana "stems"; (5) a sack containing six syringes and five hypodermic needles; and (6) a small scale. The trial court found this evidence was admissible in defendant's trial on the ground that it was relevant to show intent at the time of the alleged sales. I think this ruling prejudicial. This court has held many times in the past that to show intent, the past criminal conduct must be similar in type to that for which the accused is indicted. See, e. g., Dranow v. United States, 307 F.2d 545 (8th Cir. 1962); Williams v. United States, 272 F.2d 40 (8th Cir. 1960). It is improper to admit evidence of a crime unrelated in any particular to the one with which defendant was charged. Johnson v. United States, 318 U.S. 189, 63 S. Ct. 549, 87 L. Ed. 704 (1943); United States v. Christian, 427 F.2d 1299 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 909, 91 S. Ct. 153, 27 L. Ed. 2d 148 (1970); United States v. Bucur, 194 F.2d 297 (7th Cir. 1952). "If there is a genuine issue in the case as to . . . intent . . . relevant evidence of other crimes is generally admissible. But there must appear to be some real connection between the earlier conviction and the alleged crime beyond the allegation that both acts sprang from a vicious disposition." Wakaksan v. United States, 367 F.2d 639, 645 (8th Cir. 1966) (citations omitted); see also Hurwitz v. United States, 229 F. 449, 453 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 266 U.S. 613, 45 S. Ct. 95, 69 L. Ed. 468 (1924). The policy behind this requirement was set forth in Weiss v. United States, 122 F.2d 675, 683 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 314 U.S. 687, 62 S. Ct. 300, 86 L. Ed. 550 (1941).
However, assuming the evidence can in some way be rationalized as related to the offense charged, I would additionally rule that the evidence should have been excluded as illegally seized. The search is allegedly justified because of the seizure of the automobile pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881 and the reasoning of the Supreme Court in Cooper v. California, 386 U.S. 58, 87 S. Ct. 788, 17 L. Ed. 2d 730 (1967). The pertinent parts of Section 881 read as follows:
The statutory authority under which the car is seized does not in itself make the warrantless search of the car reasonable. The test of the search is still one of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment. Cooper v. California, 386 U.S. 58, 87 S. Ct. 788 (1967); Almeida-Sanchez v. United States, 413 U.S. 266, 93 S. Ct. 2535, 37 L. Ed. 2d 596 (1973). The search of the car, some three months after the alleged offense in question, was not in any way "closely related" to the reason the defendant was arrested. There is no showing that there was any connection in point of time and circumstance between the offense and the search. Admittedly the officers did not have probable cause to search the vehicle. Under these circumstances, notwithstanding the consequences flowing from civil forfeiture and holdings which might validate belated seizures, there still remains the question whether a belated search is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
Under Cooper, supra, the Court held it was reasonable for officers who have lawfully seized an automobile to inventory it-thus validating the search. The difficulty with the present case is in resolving whether the automobile was lawfully seized. The statute requires that seizure of property may be only "upon process issued pursuant to the Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims by any district court having jurisdiction over the property." (Emphasis ours). No process was obtained here. The majority relies on the government's claim that process is not necessary in the present case because the property to be seized fell under two of the exceptions listed in 21 U.S.C. § 881(b) (1) and (4): first, that the seizure was incident to an arrest and second, that the Attorney General had probable cause to believe that the property had been used or was intended to be used in violation of the subchapter.
The exceptions under subsection 4 dealing with "probable cause" would be self-defeating if they meant that process to seize property is not required in every case where the property has been used in violation of the Act. If the process requirement has any meaning it must be that process is necessary unless there exists probable cause that Section 881(a) is being contemporaneously violated and the exigencies of the surrounding circumstances make the requirement of obtaining process to seize the vehicle unreasonable and unnecessary. There is no justification that probable cause under subsection (a) should exclude timeliness as a prerequisite to seizure and search as is otherwise read into the contemporaneous requirement governing probable cause to obtain a search warrant.1 As stated in House v. United States, 134 U.S.App.D.C. 10, 411 F.2d 725, 728 (1969), cert. denied, 339 U.S. 915, 90 S. Ct. 2220, 26 L. Ed. 2d 574 (1970), there is "a necessity for search reasonably referable to a contemporaneous violation of law." In our case the police may have had cause to believe that the vehicle had previously been used to transport narcotics, some three months before. However, the facts surrounding the defendant's belated arrest and the seizure of the automobile did not present any exigency or necessity such that the police could not have obtained lawful process to seize the vehicle. Without such a foundational basis to apply the exceptions in Sec. 881(a) (1) and (4) the statutory requirement of process is otherwise rendered meaningless.
"(c) Issuance and Contents- [A warrant] shall command the officer to search forthwith the person or place named for the property specified.
See Spinelli v. United States, 382 F.2d 871 (8th Cir. 1967), rev'd on other grounds, 393 U.S. 410, 89 S. Ct. 584, 21 L. Ed. 2d 637 (1969).