Opinion ID: 576216
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Application of United States v. Halper to the Instant Case

Text: 33 With these principles in mind, we turn to the instant case. We consider first whether the forfeiture could be considered a removal of an instrumentality of crime from general circulation. The government apparently concedes, however, that forfeiture is not sought on this ground. See 38 Whalers Cove Drive, 747 F.Supp. at 178 (The government makes no suggestion that Levin's condominium was contraband or somehow itself culpable.). We therefore do not address that argument. 34 Instead, the government's sole contention here is that the sanction serves other civil goals such as compensation. Following Halper, we therefore examine whether the forfeiture is disproportionately large, relative to the value of the drug transactions which violated 21 U.S.C. § 881(a)(7). The forfeiture of Levin's interest in the residence was close to three hundred times the total value of cocaine sold inside it. We find as a matter of law that the forefeiture is overwhelmingly disproportionate compared to the value of the relevant drug transactions, and that therefore a rebuttal presumption that the forfeiture is punitive in nature is created. 35 If the resulting attachment of constitutional protections under Halper would have any effect on the result of this case, we would be inclined to vacate Judge Nickerson's judgment of forfeiture and remand the case to permit the government an opportunity to rebut the presumption by showing through an accounting of its costs that the forfeiture is civil in nature. However, assuming arguendo that following a government accounting the district judge would conclude that the forfeiture, even up to the full amount of Levin's equity interest in the condominium, amounted to punishment and not a civil sanction, the judgment would still survive scrutiny. For reasons that we now turn to, the forfeiture does not violate the constitutional limits on punishment set by the Double Jeopardy Clause and the Eighth Amendment. 36
37 Levin maintains that because the forfeiture proceeding followed his prosecution, plea of guilty, and sentencing in state court, the forfeiture violates his Double Jeopardy Clause right to be free from multiple punishments. 38 We disagree. Even assuming that the forfeiture is a criminal penalty, the Double Jeopardy Clause prohibits two criminal punishments for the same offense only when they are sought by the same sovereign government. The Double Jeopardy Clause is inapplicable when separate governments prosecute the same defendant, for the defendant has offended both sovereigns. Heath v. Alabama, 474 U.S. 82, 87-89, 106 S.Ct. 433, 437, 88 L.Ed.2d 387 (1985). 39 Levin argues on appeal that his case falls within an exception to this dual sovereignty doctrine. The Double Jeopardy Clause may be violated despite single prosecutions by separate sovereigns when one prosecuting sovereign can be said to be acting as a 'tool' of the other. United States v. Aboumoussallem, 726 F.2d 906, 910 (2d Cir.1984) (quoting Bartkus v. Illinois, 359 U.S. 121, 123, 79 S.Ct. 676, 678, 3 L.Ed.2d 684 (1959)); United States v. Jordan, 870 F.2d 1310, 1312 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 831, 110 S.Ct. 101, 107 L.Ed.2d 65 (1989); United States v. Russotti, 717 F.2d 27, 31 (2d Cir.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1022, 104 S.Ct. 1273, 79 L.Ed.2d 678 (1984). This exception is not triggered simply by cooperation between the two authorities, however. The state government must have effectively manipulated the actions of the federal government, so that federal officials retained little or no independent volition. United States v. Russotti, 717 F.2d at 31; United States v. Liddy, 542 F.2d 76, 79 (D.C.Cir.1976). Levin contends only that the Suffolk County Police Department will receive a portion of the forfeiture proceeds. That distribution is apparently pursuant to statute. 21 U.S.C. § 881(e)(1)(A) authorizes the Attorney General to transfer part or all of the forfeited personal property to any State or local law enforcement agency which participated directly in the seizure or forfeiture of the property. But the fact that the Attorney General may choose to share the forfeited property with a local law enforcement agency is inadequate to show that the United States government, which no doubt has its own interest in the proceeds, is here acting as a cover for the Suffolk County Police Department. Nor does the receipt by the state enforcement agency of part of the proceeds implicate the state in any punishment by virtue of the forfeiture since the forfeiture is being effected by the United States government. 40
41 Levin asserts that the forfeiture violates the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment, or its Excessive Fines Clause. 3 We find the arguments without merit. The Eighth Amendment proscribes only extreme punishments. Even assuming that the entire amount of the forfeiture here is punishment, it does not violate the outer confines set by the Eighth Amendment. 42 The Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause prevents the imposition of a punishment which is grossly disproportionate to the crime committed. Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 290-92, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 3010-11, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983). Three factors are relevant to this inquiry: (1) the inherent gravity of the offense; (2) the sentences imposed for similarly grave offenses in the same jurisdiction; and (3) sentences imposed for the same crime in other jurisdictions. We need not linger over the first factor. Levin does not dispute his participation in two sales of cocaine. The Supreme Court has recognized the serious threat to individuals and society posed by drug offenses in the context of an Eighth Amendment analysis. See Harmelin v. Michigan, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 2680, 115 L.Ed.2d 836 (1991) (upholding mandatory life sentence for possession of 672 grams of cocaine); id. 111 S.Ct. at 2698 (Scalia, J.) (Michigan legislature may take appropriate measures to address the situation on the streets of Detroit); id. at 2706 (Kennedy, J.) (petitioner's drug offense threatened grave harm); see also National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab, 489 U.S. 656, 668, 109 S.Ct. 1384, 1392, 103 L.Ed.2d 685 (1989) (drug use and distribution one of greatest problems affecting the health and welfare of our population). 43 Further, the punishments meted out by the federal government and other jurisdictions for similar crimes indicate that the forfeiture of Levin's condominium is not aberrational. Federal law authorizes a sentence of twenty years and a fine of $1,000,000 for the distribution of cocaine in an amount less than 500 grams. 21 U.S.C. § 841. The Sentencing Guidelines assign a Base Offense Level of 12 to transactions involving less than 25 grams of cocaine. Depending upon criminal history, a defendant who had distributed the same amount of cocaine as Levin would presumptively be fined $30,000 and receive a sentence of 10 to 37 months. The state courts in this circuit authorize punishments on a similar scale. Under New York law, a defendant who had distributed the same quantity of cocaine as Levin would be exposed to 8 years and 4 months imprisonment and $50,000 in fines. N.Y.Penal Law §§ 220.41, 70.00, 80.00. Under Vermont law, a defendant distributing 2.5 grams or more of cocaine (but less than one ounce) may receive five years of imprisonment and a fine of $100,000. Vt.Stat.Ann. tit. 18, § 4231. Connecticut law authorizes a sentence of 20 years and a fine of $10,000 for distribution of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine. Conn.Gen.Stat. § 21a-278(b); § 53a-41. We recognize that these are merely possible sentences and are not conclusive as to what a court might do in an individual case. Nonetheless, we infer from the statutes that the imposition of the equivalent of a $68,000 fine in this case, while large, is not a grossly disproportionate punishment within the meaning of Eighth Amendment jurisprudence. 44 As to the Excessive Fines Clause, the Supreme Court has provided no guidance, except to observe that fines must be closely scrutinized because they benefit the government. Unlike other forms of punishment that impose costs on government, fines create revenue. Harmelin v. Michigan, 111 S.Ct. at 2693 n. 9 (Scalia, J.); cf. Browning-Ferris Industries, Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc., 492 U.S. at 275, 109 S.Ct. at 2920 (Excessive Fines Clause possibly applicable to revenue-raising efforts through fines, other payments, or forfeitures). We need not decide at exactly what point a fine or forfeiture might violate the Excessive Fines Clause, for wherever such a line could be drawn, this forfeiture would be proper. Judging from the penal laws of the United States and the various states mentioned above, a fine of many thousands of dollars for a minor drug offense is not beyond the pale. Cf. Calero-Toledo v. Pearson Yacht Leasing Co., supra (upholding against due process challenge seizure of innocent owner's $19,800 yacht upon which marijuana cigarette was discovered). We conclude that the forfeiture, if truly a punishment, does not violate the Eighth Amendment.