Source: https://openjurist.org/506/us/80
Timestamp: 2018-06-19 18:35:32
Document Index: 60918394

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 881', '§ 1304', '§ 2465', '§ 511', '§ 881', '§ 881', '§ 881', '§ 2461', '§ 222', '§ 92', '§ 9', '§ 1322', '§ 1322', '§ 2465', '§ 1301', '§ 1348', '§ 1322', '§ 1304', '§ 2414', '§ 1304', '§ 2414', '§ 1304', '§ 2465', '§ 2465', '§ 2465', '§ 1304', '§ 2465', '§ 1304', '§ 2465', '§ 1521', '§ 1521', '§ 1355', '§ 1521', '§ 1521', '§ 1521', '§ 881', '§ 1355', '§ 1304', '§ 2465']

506 US 80 Republic National Bank of Miami v. United States | OpenJurist
506 U.S. 80 - Republic National Bank of Miami v. United States
113 S.Ct. 554
121 L.Ed.2d 474
REPUBLIC NATIONAL BANK OF MIAMI, Petitioner,
The Government filed a civil action in the District Court, alleging that a particular residence was subject to forfeiture under 21 U.S.C. § 881(a)(6) because its owner had purchased it with narcotics trafficking proceeds. After the United States Marshal seized the property, petitioner Bank, which claimed a lien under a recorded mortgage, agreed to the Government's request for a sale of the property, the proceeds of which were retained by the Marshal pending disposition of the case. A trial on the merits resulted in a judgment denying the Bank's claim with prejudice and forfeiting the sale proceeds to the United States. When the Bank filed a timely notice of appeal but failed to post a supersedeas bond or seek to stay the execution of the judgment, the Marshal, at the Government's request, transferred the sale proceeds to the United States Treasury. The Court of Appeals then granted the Government's motion to dismiss, holding, inter alia, that the removal of the sale proceeds from the judicial district terminated the District Court's in rem jurisdiction.
Justice BLACKMUN delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II, and IV, concluding that, in an in rem forfeiture action, the Court of Appeals is not divested of jurisdiction by the prevailing party's transfer of the res from the district. The "settled" rule on which the Government relies that jurisdiction over such a proceeding depends upon continued control of the res—does not exist. Rather, the applicable general principle is that jurisdiction, once vested, is not divested by a discontinuance of possession, although exceptions may exist where, for example, release of the res would render the judgment "useless" because the res could neither be delivered to the complainant nor restored to the claimant. See, e.g., United States v. The Little Charles, 26 F.Cas. 979. The Brig Ann, 13 U.S. (9 Cranch) 289, 290, 3 L.Ed. 734, distinguished. The fictions of in rem forfeiture were developed primarily to expand the reach of the courts and to furnish remedies for aggrieved parties, not to provide a prevailing party with a means of defeating its adversary's claim for redress. Pp. ____, ____.
THE CHIEF JUSTICE delivered the opinion of the Court in part, concluding that a judgment for petitioner in the underlying forfeiture action would not be rendered "useless" by the absence of a specific congressional appropriation authorizing the payment of funds to petitioner. Even if there exist circumstances where funds which have been deposited into the Treasury may be returned absent an appropriation, but cf. Knote v. United States, 95 U.S. 149, 154, 24 L.Ed. 442, it is unnecessary to plow that uncharted ground here. For together, 31 U.S.C. § 1304—the general appropriation for the payment of judgments against the United States—and 28 U.S.C. § 2465 —requiring the return of seized property upon entry of judgment for claimants in forfeiture proceedings—would authorize the return of funds in this case in the event petitioner were to prevail below. See OPM v. Richmond, 496 U.S. 414, 432, 110 S.Ct. 2465, 2476, 110 L.Ed.2d 387. Pp. ____.
* In February 1988, the Government instituted an action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida seeking forfeiture of a specified single-family residence in Coral Gables. The complaint alleged that Indalecio Iglesias was the true owner of the property; that he had purchased it with proceeds of narcotics trafficking; and that the property was subject to forfeiture to the United States pursuant to § 511(a)(6) of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, as amended, 92 Stat. 3777, 21 U.S.C. § 881(a)(6).1 A warrant for the arrest of the property was issued, and the United States Marshal seized it.
After a trial on the merits, the District Court entered judgment denying the Bank's claim with prejudice and forfeiting the sale proceeds to the United States pursuant to § 881(a)(6). App. 25. The court found probable cause to believe that Iglesias had purchased the property and completed the construction of the residence thereon with drug profits. It went on to reject the Bank's innocent-owner defense to forfeiture. United States v. One Single Family Residence, 731 F.Supp. 1563 (SD Fla.1990).2 Petitioner Bank filed a timely notice of appeal, but did not post a supersedeas bond or seek to stay the execution of the judgment.
In view of inconsistency and apparent uncertainty among the Courts of Appeals,3 we granted certiorari. --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1159, 117 L.Ed.2d 406 (1992).
A civil forfeiture proceeding under § 881 is an action in rem, "which shall conform as near as may be to proceedings in admiralty." 28 U.S.C. § 2461(b). In arguing that the transfer of the res from the judicial district deprived the Court of Appeals of jurisdiction, the Government relies on what it describes as a settled admiralty principle: that jurisdiction over an in rem forfeiture proceeding depends upon continued control of the res. We, however, find no such established rule in our cases. Certainly, it long has been understood that a valid seizure of the res is a prerequisite to the initiation of an in rem civil forfeiture proceeding. United States v. One Assortment of 89 Firearms, 465 U.S. 354, 363, 104 S.Ct. 1099, 1105, 79 L.Ed.2d 361 (1984); Taylor v. Carryl, 61 U.S. (20 How.) 583, 599, 15 L.Ed. 1028 (1858); 1 S. Friedell, Benedict on Admiralty § 222, p. 14-39 (7th ed. 1992); H. Hawes, The Law Relating to the Subject of Jurisdiction of Courts § 92 (1886). See also Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims C(2) and C(3). The bulk of the Government's cases stands merely for this unexceptionable proposition, which comports with the fact that, in admiralty, the "seizure of the RES, and the publication of the monition or invitation to appear, is regarded as equivalent to the particular service of process in law and equity." Taylor v. Carryl, 61 U.S. (20 How.), at 599.
To the extent that there actually is a discernible rule on the need for continued presence of the res, we find it expressed in cases such as The Rio Grande, 90 U.S. (23 Wall.) 458, 23 L.Ed. 158 (1875), and United States v. The Little Charles, 26 F.Cas. 979 (CC Va.1818). In the latter case, Chief Justice Marshall, sitting as Circuit Justice, explained that "continuance of possession" was not necessary to maintain jurisdiction over an in rem forfeiture action, citing the "general principle, that jurisdiction, once vested, is not divested, although a state of things should arrive in which original jurisdiction could not be exercised." Id., at 982. The Chief Justice noted that in some cases there might be an exception to the rule, where the release of the property would render the judgment "useless" because "the thing could neither be delivered to the libellants, nor restored to the claimants." Ibid. He explained, however, that this exception "will not apply to any case where the judgment will have any effect whatever." Ibid. Similarly, in The Rio Grande, this Court held that improper release of a ship by a marshal did not divest the Circuit Court of jurisdiction. "We do not understand the law to be that an actual and continuous possession of the res is required to sustain the jurisdiction of the court. When the vessel was seized by the order of the court and brought within its control the jurisdiction was complete." 90 U.S. (23 Wall.), at 463. The Court there emphasized the impropriety of the ship's release. The Government now suggests that the case merely announced an "injustice" exception to the requirement of continuous control. But the question is one of jurisdiction, and we do not see why the means of the res' removal should make a difference.4
Stasis is not a general prerequisite to the maintenance of jurisdiction. Jurisdiction over the person survives a change in circumstances, Leman v. Krentler-Arnold Co., 284 U.S. 448, 454, 52 S.Ct. 238, 241, 76 L.Ed. 389 (1932) ("[A]fter a final decree a party cannot defeat the jurisdiction of the appellate tribunal by removing from the jurisdiction, as the proceedings on appeal are part of the cause," citing Nations v. Johnson, 65 U.S.C. (24 How.) 195, 16 L.Ed. 628 (1860)), as does jurisdiction over the subject-matter, Louisville, N.A. & C.R. Co. v. Louisville Trust Co., 174 U.S. 552, 566, 19 S.Ct. 817, 822, 43 L.Ed. 1081 (1899) (mid-suit change in the citizenship of a party does not destroy diversity jurisdiction); St. Paul Mercury Indemnity Co. v. Red Cab Co., 303 U.S. 283, 289-290, 58 S.Ct. 586, 590-591, 82 L.Ed. 845 (1938) (jurisdiction survives reduction of amount in controversy). Nothing in the nature of in rem jurisdiction suggests a reason to treat it differently.
If the conjured rule were genuine, we would have to decide whether it had outlived its usefulness, and whether, in any event, it could ever be used by a plaintiff—the instigator of the in rem action—to contest the appellate court's jurisdiction. The rule's illusory nature obviates the need for such inquiries, however, and a lack of justification undermines any argument for its creation. We agree with the late Judge Vance's remark in One Lear Jet, 836 F.2d, at 1577: "although in some circumstances the law may require courts to depart from what seems to be fairness and common sense, such a departure in this case is unjustified and unsupported by the law of forfeiture and admiralty." We have no cause to override common sense and fairness here. We hold that, in an in rem forfeiture action, the Court of Appeals is not divested of jurisdiction by the prevailing party's transfer of the res from the District.5
The Appropriations Clause, U.S. Const., Art. I, § 9, cl. 7, provides: "No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law." In Knote v. United States, 95 U.S. 149, 24 L.Ed. 442 (1877), this Court held that the President could not order the Treasury to repay the proceeds from the sale of property forfeited by a convicted traitor who had been pardoned. But the Government—implicitly in its brief and explicitly at oral argument, see Tr. of Oral Arg. 37-39—now goes further, maintaining that, absent an appropriation, any funds that find their way into a Treasury account must remain there, regardless of their origin or ownership. Such a rule would lead to seemingly bizarre results. The Ninth Circuit recently observed: "If, for example, an agent of the United States had scooped up the cash in dispute and, without waiting for a judicial order, had run to the nearest outpost of the Treasury and deposited the money . . . it would be absurd to say that only an act of Congress could restore the purloined cash to the court." United States v. Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) in United States Currency, 860 F.2d 1511, 1514 (1988). Yet that absurdity appears to be the logical consequence of the Government's position.
Perhaps it is not so absurd. In some instances where a private party pays money to a federal agency and is later deemed entitled to a refund, an appropriation has been assumed to be necessary to obtain the money. See 55 Comp.Gen. 625 (1976); United States General Accounting Office, Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, 5-80 to 5-81 (1982). Congress, therefore, has passed a permanent indefinite appropriation for " 'Refund of Moneys Erroneously Received and Covered' and other collections erroneously deposited that are not properly chargeable to another appropriation." 31 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(2). This appropriation has been interpreted to authorize, for example, the refund of charges assessed to investment advisers by the Securities and Exchange Commission and deposited in the Treasury, after those charges were held to be erroneous in light of decisions of this Court. See 55 Comp.Gen. 243 (1975); see also National Presto Industries, Inc. v. United States, 219 Ct.Cl. 626, 630 (1979) (suggesting that prior version of § 1322(b)(2) authorized refund of sum deposited in Treasury during litigation). Section 1322(b)(2) arguably applies here.
Petitioner offers a different suggestion. It identifies 28 U.S.C. § 2465 as an appropriation. That statute states: "Upon the entry of judgment for the claimant in any proceeding to condemn or forfeit property seized under any Act of Congress, such property shall be returned forthwith to the claimant or his agent." That is hardly standard language of appropriation. Cf. 31 U.S.C. § 1301(d). Yet I have difficulty imagining how an "appropriation" of funds determined on appeal not to belong to the United States could ever be more specific.6
In part for that reason, however, I believe that a formal appropriation is not required in these circumstances. The Appropriations Clause governs only the disposition of money that belongs to the United States. The Clause "assure[s] that public funds will be spent according to the letter of the difficult judgments reached by Congress." OPM v. Richmond, 496 U.S. 414, 428, 110 S.Ct. 2465, 2473, 110 L.Ed.2d 387 (1990) (emphasis added); see also Stith, Congress' Power of the Purse, 97 Yale L.J. 1343, 1358, and n. 67 (1988) (Clause encompasses only funds that belong to the United States); 2 Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States § 1348 (3d ed. 1858) (object of the Clause "is to secure regularity, punctuality, and fidelity, in the disbursements of the public money " (emphasis added)). I do not believe that funds held in the Treasury during the course of an ongoing in rem forfeiture proceeding—the purpose of which, after all, is to determine the ownership of the res, see, e.g., The Propeller Commerce, 66 U.S. (1 Black) 575, 580-581, 17 L.Ed. 107 (1861); The Maggie Hammond, 76 U.S. (9 Wall.) 435, 456, 19 L.Ed. 772 (1869); Jennings v. Carson, 8 U.S. (4 Cranch) 2, 23, 2 L.Ed. 531 (1807)—can properly be considered public money. The Court in Tyler v. Defrees, 78 U.S. (11 Wall.) 331, 349, 20 L.Ed. 161 (1870), explained that once a valid seizure of forfeitable property has occurred and the court has notice of the fact, "[n]o change of the title or possession [can] be made, pending the judicial proceedings, which would defeat the final decree."
Chief Justice REHNQUIST delivered the opinion of the Court in part and, joined by Justice WHITE, Justice SCALIA, Justice KENNEDY, Justice SOUTER, and Justice THOMAS*, concurred in part and concurred in the judgment.
In Knote v. United States, 95 U.S. 149, 154, 24 L.Ed. 442 (1877), we stated: "[I]f the proceeds have been paid into the treasury, the right to them has so far become vested in the United States that they can only be secured to the former owner of the property through an act of Congress. Moneys once in the treasury can only be withdrawn by an appropriation by law." Knote is distinguishable in that the forfeiture proceeding in that case was final at the time the appropriations question arose. But the principle that once funds are deposited into the Treasury, they become public money—and thus may only be paid out pursuant to a statutory appropriation—would seem to transcend the facts of Knote. That there exists a specific appropriation for " 'Refund of Moneys Erroneously Received and Covered' and other collections erroneously deposited that are not properly chargeable to another appropriation," 31 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(2), supports this understanding.
Justice BLACKMUN relies principally on language from Tyler v. Defrees, 78 U.S. (11 Wall.) 331, 349, 20 L.Ed. 161 (1871), to the effect that once a seizure of forfeitable property has occurred, "[n]o change of the title or possession [can] be made, pending the judicial proceedings, which would defeat the final decree." See ante, at ____. This language is dictum rendered in the course of deciding a dispute over the sufficiency of the Marshal's seizure of the property subject to forfeiture. But even if it were the holding of the case, it would have no application to the present case, because here there was a final decree entered by the District Court in favor of the Government. It is petitioner's failure to post a bond or obtain a stay of that judgment which has brought the present controversy to this Court.
"(a) Necessary amounts are appropriated to pay final judgments, awards, compromise settlements, and interest and costs specified in the judgments or otherwise authorized by law when —
"(3) the judgment, award, or settlement is payable —
"(A) under section 2414, 2517, 2672, or 2677 of title 28. . . ." 31 U.S.C. § 1304.
Title 28 U.S.C. § 2414, in turn, authorizes the payment of "final judgments rendered by a district court . . . against the United States." Together, § 1304 and § 2414 would seem to authorize the return of funds in this case in the event petitioner were to prevail in the underlying forfeiture action.
But further inquiry is required, for we have said that § 1304 "does not create an all-purpose fund for judicial disbursement. . . . Rather, funds may be paid out only on the basis of a judgment based on a substantive right to compensation based on the express terms of a specific statute." OPM v. Richmond, 496 U.S. 414, 432, 110 S.Ct. 2465, 2475, 110 L.Ed.2d 387 (1990). The question, then, is whether petitioner would have a "substantive right to compensation" if it were to prevail in this forfeiture proceeding. I believe 28 U.S.C. § 2465 provides such a right here. That section provides: "Upon the entry of judgment for the claimant in any proceeding to . . . forfeit property seized under any Act of Congress, such property shall be returned forthwith to the claimant or his agent." Although § 2465 speaks of forfeitable "property" and not public money, the property subject to forfeiture in this case has been converted to proceeds now resting in the Assets Forfeiture Fund of the Treasury. I see no reason why § 2465 should not be construed as authorizing the return of proceeds in such a case. Therefore, I would hold that 31 U.S.C. § 1304, together with 28 U.S.C. § 2465, provide the requisite appropriation.
"In those two cases, we declined to decide whether the District Courts had properly denied to the federal plaintiffs, against whom no prosecutions were pending, injunctive relief restraining enforcement of the Texas and Georgia criminal abortion statutes; instead, we affirmed the issuance of declaratory judgments of unconstitutionality, anticipating that these would be given effect by state authorities." 415 U.S. at 469 [94 S.Ct. at 1220-1221].
See also Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 166, 93 S.Ct. 705, 733, 35 L.Ed.2d 147 (1973): "[w]e find it unnecessary to decide whether the District Court erred in withholding injunctive relief, for we assume the Texas prosecutorial authorities will give full credence to this decision that the present criminal abortion statutes of that State are unconstitutional"; Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 201, 93 S.Ct. 739, 752, 35 L.Ed.2d 201 (1973) (same). More generally, it goes without saying that a creditor must first have judgment before he is entitled to collect from one who has disputed the debt, and it frequently happens that the losing debtor pays up without more. Perhaps, however, the judgment creditor will have collection problems, but that does not render his judgment a meaningless event.
While I agree with Justice BLACKMUN's analysis of the Government's Appropriations Clause argument, and join his opinion in its entirety, I also agree with THE CHIEF JUSTICE that 31 U.S.C. § 1304, together with 28 U.S.C. § 2465, provide a satisfactory alternative response. Moreover, like Justice WHITE, and for the reasons stated in his separate opinion, I am surprised that the Government would make "such a transparently fallacious" argument in support of its unconscionable position in this case. See ante, at ____.
I cannot join the Court's discussion of jurisdiction because that discussion is unnecessary and may very well constitute an advisory opinion. In my view, we should determine the applicability of § 1521 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, 106 Stat. 3672. Effective October 28, 1992, § 1521 amended 28 U.S.C. § 1355 to provide that "[i]n any case in which a final order disposing of property in a civil forfeiture action or proceeding is appealed, removal of the property by the prevailing party shall not deprive the court of jurisdiction." 106 Stat. ----. The clear import of the new law is to preserve the jurisdiction of a court of appeals in a civil forfeiture action where the res has been removed by the prevailing party—the very issue involved in this case. This law would appear by its plain terms to be dispositive of this case, thus rendering academic the discussion in Part II of the Court's opinion.*
The Court mentions § 1521 in a single footnote, stating simply that "we do not now interpret that statute or determine the issue of its retroactive application to the present case." Ante, at ____, n. 5. As a general rule, of course, statutes affecting substantive rights or obligations are presumed to operate prospectively only. Bennett v. New Jersey, 470 U.S. 632, 639, 105 S.Ct. 1555, 1560, 84 L.Ed.2d 572 (1985). "Thus, congressional enactments . . . will not be construed to have retroactive effect unless their language requires this result." Bowen v. Georgetown Univ. Hospital, 488 U.S. 204, 208, 109 S.Ct. 468, 471, 102 L.Ed.2d 493 (1988). But not every application of a new statute to a pending case will produce a "retroactive effect." "[W]hether a particular application is retroactive" will "depen[d] upon what one considers to be the determinative event by which retroactivity or prospectivity is to be calculated." Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. v. Bonjorno, 494 U.S. 827, 857, and n. 3, 110 S.Ct. 1570, 1578 and n. 3, 108 L.Ed.2d 842 (1990) (SCALIA, J., concurring) (emphasis in original).
In the case of newly enacted laws restricting or enlarging jurisdiction, one would think that the "determinative event" for retroactivity purposes would be the final termination of the litigation, since statutes affecting jurisdiction speak to the power of the court rather than to the rights or obligations of the parties. That conclusion is supported by longstanding precedent. We have always recognized that when jurisdiction is conferred by an Act of Congress and that Act is repealed, "the power to exercise such jurisdiction [is] withdrawn, and . . . all pending actions f[a]ll, as the jurisdiction depend[s] entirely upon the act of Congress." The Assessors v. Osbornes, 76 U.S. (9 Wall.) 567, 575, 19 L.Ed. 748 (1870). "This rule—that, when a law conferring jurisdiction is repealed without any reservation as to pending cases, all cases fall with the law—has been adhered to consistently by this Court." Bruner v. United States, 343 U.S. 112, 116-117, 72 S.Ct. 581, 584, 96 L.Ed. 786 (1952). See id., at 117, n. 8, 72 S.Ct. at 584 n. 8 (citing cases). Moreover, we have specifically noted that "[t]his jurisdictional rule does not affect the general principle that a statute is not to be given retroactive effect unless such construction is required by explicit language or by necessary implication." Ibid.
The same rule ordinarily mandates the application to pending cases of new laws enlarging jurisdiction. We so held in United States v. Alabama, 362 U.S. 602, 80 S.Ct. 924, 4 L.Ed.2d 982 (1960) (per curiam). There, the District Court had concluded that it was without jurisdiction to entertain a civil rights action brought by the United States against a State, and the Court of Appeals had affirmed. Id., at 603, 80 S.Ct. at 926. While the case was pending before this Court, the President signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which authorized such actions. Relying on "familiar principles," we held that "the case must be decided on the basis of law now controlling, and the provisions of [the new statute] are applicable to this litigation." Id., at 604, 80 S.Ct. at 926 (emphasis added) (citing cases). We therefore held that "the District Court has jurisdiction to entertain this action against the State," and we remanded for further proceedings. Ibid. Similarly, in Andrus v. Charlestone Stone Products Co., 436 U.S. 604, 98 S.Ct. 2002, 56 L.Ed.2d 570 (1978), we held that because the general federal-question statute had been amended in 1976 to eliminate the amount-in-controversy requirement for suits against the United States, "the fact that in 1973 respondent in its complaint did not allege $10,000 in controversy is now of no moment." Id., at 608, n. 6, 98 S.Ct. at 2005 n. 6 (emphasis added).
It could be argued that the language of § 1521 implies an earlier determinative event for retroactivity purposes—such as the removal of the res or the point when the final order disposing of the property "is appealed." 106 Stat. ----. I do not find these terms sufficiently clear to overcome the general rule that statutes altering jurisdiction are to be applied to pending cases; I would therefore decide this case on the basis of the new law. If the Court is plagued with doubts about the "retroactive application" of § 1521, ante, at ____, n. 5, the Court should, at a minimum, seek further briefing from the parties on this question before embarking on what appears to me to be an unnecessary excursion through the law of admiralty. There is no legitimate reason not to take the time to do so, for if the Government were to concede the new law's applicability, the Court's opinion would be advisory. I can, therefore, concur only in the Court's judgment on the issue of jurisdiction.
Title 21 U.S.C. § 881(a) reads in pertinent part:
We note that on October 28, 1992, the President signed the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, 106 Stat. 3672. Section 1521 of that Act (part of Title XV, entitled the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act) significantly amended 28 U.S.C. § 1355 to provide, among other things:
THE CHIEF JUSTICE, writing for the Court on this question, post, would find an appropriation in the judgment fund, 31 U.S.C. § 1304. While plausible, his analysis is nevertheless problematic. The judgment fund is understood to apply to money judgments only. See, e.g., 58 Comp.Gen. 311 (1979). A final judgment in petitioner's favor, however, would be in the nature of a financial "acquittal"—a simple ruling that the res is not forfeitable. Unless we were to require the bank to sue on its judgment of nonforfeitability for return of a sum equivalent to the retained res, THE CHIEF JUSTICE's approach would seem to open the judgment fund to payment on nonmoney judgments. Moreover, as THE CHIEF JUSTICE acknowledges, see post, at ____, "the property subject to forfeiture has been converted to proceeds now resting in the Assets Forfeiture Fund of the Treasury." Title 28 U.S.C. § 2465 can "be construed as authorizing the return of proceeds in such a case." Post, at ____. But a payment from the judgment fund would not achieve that purpose. The res is not in the judgment fund. A payment from that account, while no doubt entirely acceptable to petitioner, would not be a return of the forfeited property, and at the end of the episode (although I have no doubt that the Comptroller would manage to balance the books) the Assets Forfeiture Fund would be some $800,000 richer, and the judgment fund correspondingly diminished.