Opinion ID: 1804919
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sufficiency of Evidence Connecting Owner of Motor Vehicle to Alleged Criminal Activity.

Text: Finally, appellant seeks to defeat the forfeiture of her automobile by challenging the nexus between the alleged criminal activity and any act on her part. She begins by arguing that it was established in In re Property of Wagner, 482 N.W.2d 160 (Iowa 1992), that, [e]xcept in cases of a joint tenant, property cannot be forfeited as against the property's owner who had no part in the commission of the crime. See id. at 163. Unlike the present case, the forfeiture in Wagner did not involve property used to facilitate a criminal offense. It involved seized currency alleged to be the proceeds of criminal activity. The issue was when the State acquired title as against the claims of a levying judgment creditor of the person from whom the currency had been seized. The language in the Wagner opinion on which appellant relies and that we have quoted above was only intended to indicate that owners who are totally disassociated from the alleged criminal activity have a right to challenge an attempted forfeiture of their property. This statement was not a complete description of the law governing such challenges. The applicable statute that establishes a basis for challenging a forfeiture by an owner of property provides that the property shall not be forfeited against the interest of an owner who had no part in the commission of the crime and who had no knowledge of the criminal use or intended use of the property. Iowa Code § 809.14(1) (emphasis added). The use of the conjunction and in this context suggests that the owner, in order to avoid forfeiture, must not only have had no participation in the alleged crime but also must not have known that the property would be used for a criminal purpose. Other language in section 809.14(1) provides that, if the circumstances are shown to be such that the owner should have known that the property was to be used for a criminal purpose, it may be inferred that the owner did know that this was the case. We believe that the inference that this language permits to be drawn is one that a court would be free to draw in the absence of an express statutory directive. Such an inference arises naturally from data founded upon common experience. See Stenberg v. Buckley, 245 Iowa 622, 627-29, 61 N.W.2d 452, 455-56 (1953) (inference of a fact may be drawn if arising naturally from common experience and knowledge of men); Gilmer v. Neuenswander, 238 Iowa 502, 506, 28 N.W.2d 43, 45 (1947) (same). Melissa testified that she (1) was not aware that her automobile had ever been used for the transportation of illegal controlled substances, (2) had forbidden her husband to use the car, (3) had sought to control access to the keys to the car, and (4) was sleeping at the time her husband drove the car on the night in question. Given Melissa's interest in the outcome of the proceeding, the district court could legitimately have viewed her testimony with some skepticism. Evidence offered of statements attributed to Melissa at the time of the execution of the search warrant conflicts with her testimony at the forfeiture hearing. Those statements were admissions by a party to the proceeding and thus constitute substantive proof upon which the court might have based its findings concerning Melissa's knowledge of the intended use of her automobile by her husband. We have recognized that in forfeiture cases the findings of the district court [i]f supported by substantial evidence and justified under the law ... are binding on us and the judgment will not be disturbed on appeal. In re Rush, 448 N.W.2d 472, 477 (Iowa 1989). The possibility of drawing inconsistent conclusions from the same body of evidence does not prevent a finding from being supported by substantial evidence. Id. Applying these principles in the present case, we conclude that the evidence does sustain the district court's findings on the critical issues and that its judgment approving forfeiture of the automobile must be affirmed. AFFIRMED.