Opinion ID: 6971602
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Excessive Fine Analysis

Text: We next consider whether, notwithstanding the existence of probable cause to support the forfeiture of claimant’s former residence, forfeiture would constitute an excessive fine in violation of the Eighth Amendment. In Austin v. United States, 509 U.S. 602, 622, 113 S.Ct. 2801, 125 L.Ed.2d 488 (1993), the Supreme Court held that civil in rem forfeitures under § 881(a)(7) are “subject to the limitations of the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause.” In a recent decision, United States v. Bajakajian, — U.S. -, 118 S.Ct. 2028, 2035-36, 141 L.Ed.2d 314 (1998), the Supreme Court articulated the standard for-assessing those limitations: “a punitive forfeiture violates the Excessive Fines Clause if it is grossly disproportional to the gravity of a defendant’s offense.” 3 In support of his claim that forfeiture is excessive, Lyles argues that even if he had been convicted on all three state charges, at most, he would have been subjected to an $8,000 fine for what amounted to approximately $20,000 worth of contraband. Instead, he is forced to forfeit a home valued at $220,000. 4 Claimant’s argument overlooks other, relevant factors contained in the record. For example, claimant had a significant marijuana cultivation operation in place at the time of the search, including numerous plants as well as sophisticated technology to- further that operation. Were he to have been prosecuted under federal law, he would have faced a potential fine of $250,000. Claimant argues that it is inappropriate to compare the value of the property to that amount. In support, he relies on a partial dissent in United States v. Real Property Known and Numbered as 429 South Main St., 52 F.3d 1416, 1424 (6th Cir.1995) (Guy, J., concurring part and dissenting in part), which would have held that forfeiture was excessive. In explaining this position, the dissent stated: The district court’s comparison to the potential fíne of $500,000 is unrealistic. [Claimant] has not been prosecuted under any federal law. Even if he were prosecuted successfully, the likelihood, under these facts, that he would receive such a fine is, for all practical purposes, non-existent. Id. Even if that had been the prevailing view in South Main, however, the facts in that case are distinguishable. In South Main, claimant’s home, which was valued at $83,-700, was implicated in two sales of marijuana that totalled $75 in street value and occurred on two consecutive days. This case, in contrast, involved a sophisticated, on-going cultivation operation. Given that fact, as well as claimant’s ability to pay a sübstantial fine, 5 there would be a greater likelihood of such a fine in any federal prosecution. Under these circumstances, no gross disproportion between the value of the property and the gravity of the offense has been shown, and therefore claimant’s excessive fine claim is unwarranted. AFFIRMED.