Opinion ID: 2713
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Kathleen von Hofe's Interest in 32 Medley Lane

Text: Forfeiture of 32 Medley Lane would be severe punishment when inflicted on Mrs. von Hofe. Given her undivided one-half interest in the property, forfeiture would amount to a $124,000 fine. Not only would forfeiture extinguish her substantial equity, it would amount to an eviction, destroying her right to maintain control over [her] home, and to be free from governmental interference, . . . a private interest of historic and continuing importance. United States v. James Daniel Good Real Prop., 510 U.S. 43, 53-54, 114 S.Ct. 492, 126 L.Ed.2d 490 (1993); cf. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 601, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980) ([R]espect for the sanctity of the home . . . has been embedded in our traditions since the origins of the Republic). A forfeiture of this magnitude requires close consideration. Kathleen von Hofe bears minimal blame for the criminal activity that occurred at 32 Medley Lane. The record is devoid of any evidence indicating her use of drugs or her involvement in any criminal activity whatsoever. See 32 Medley Lane, 372 F.Supp.2d at 267. We also have no evidence to suggest Mrs. von Hofe encouraged or promoted the offensive conduct occurring at 32 Medley Lane. This separates her from the Milbrand claimant, who acted as a strawman in a sham transaction to shield her son's criminal activity, 58 F.3d at 848, and the Collado claimant, who actively aided her son's narcotics trafficking by repeatedly warning his confederates about possible police surveillance, 348 F.3d at 327-28. And although Mrs. von Hofe may have known her husband smoked his marijuana with friends and family, we are bound by the district court's finding that she was not aware that either her sons or husband were [sic] selling or bartering the marijuana in her home, which distinguishes her from the claimants in Collado and Milbrand, both of whom appear to have known the full extent of the narcotics trafficking that occurred on their property. 32 Medley Lane, 372 F.Supp.2d at 255. The absence of proof on this point is relevant; not only does narcotics trafficking cause significant harm to the community, but a property owner who countenances narcotics trafficking might have a pecuniary incentive to permit the activity. In saying this, we do not overlook the jury's conclusion that Mrs. von Hofe was not an innocent owner. The district court concluded that she knowingly countenanced and allowed the illegal manufacture and distribution of a controlled substance to take place in her home. 32 Medley Lane, 372 F.Supp.2d at 267. Mrs. von Hofe both knew of the marijuana plants and, upon learning about their presence in the basement, did nothing to stop her husband's horticultural hobby. See 18 U.S.C. § 983(d). Saying Mrs. von Hofe allowed her husband to engage in illegal activity on the property, however, must be taken in the context of the von Hofes' joint tenancy. Harold von Hofe did not need his wife's permission to use the property; joint ownership of 32 Medley Lane entitled Harold von Hofe to use of the property as if he was the sole owner. See Houghton v. Brantingham, 86 Conn. 630, 86 A. 664, 666 (1913). It was thus Harold von Hofe's decision, almost thirty years into his marriage and as joint owner of 32 Medley Lane, to cultivate marijuana that put his wife in the present position. Mrs. von Hofe's culpability, falling at the low end of the scale, is best described as turning a blind eye to her husband's marijuana cultivation in their basement. Serious penalties attend violations of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846, the offenses that transpired at 32 Medley Lane. Statutory penalties include a maximum $1 million fine and twenty years imprisonment, while the Guidelines allow a fine of $4,000 to $40,000, or even $1 million, and fifteen to twenty months imprisonment. Considering these penalties on the macro level might lead one to conclude a forfeiture valued at $124,000 constitutes appropriate punishment for the cultivation of sixty-five marijuana plants. However appropriate in the abstract such a punishment may be, the present forfeiture is designed to punish Mrs. von Hofe for her complicity and awareness of the criminal conduct occurring at her home, not simply the use to which her husband put their home. [4] Aside from the necessarily imprecise Guidelines calculation that arises in an in rem forfeiture where a claimant need not be criminally convicted, the utility of the available penalties tends to further diminish where, as here, a claimant does not have knowledge of the full extent of criminal activity occurring on the property. Given the dearth of evidence indicating the extent of any profit or gain earned from the marijuana plants, and Mrs. von Hofe's lack of knowledge that her husband sold or bartered marijuana with his friends, neither the statutory maximum nor the Guidelines maximum prove decisive in gauging the excessiveness of the forfeiture in relation to Mrs. von Hofe's culpability. The parties offer a variety of arguments to fill this lacuna. According to the government, Mrs. von Hofe's culpability is equal to that of her husband as his coconspirator, which would allow her to be punished as such. See Gov't Br. at 23. That the jury found a substantial connection between 32 Medley and a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana is true, but that does not necessarily implicate Mrs. von Hofe as a member of the conspiracy. A conspiracy to violate the federal narcotics laws requires proof of an agreement. See United States v. Delvecchio, 816 F.2d 859, 864 (2d Cir.1987). Mrs. von Hofe knowledge of her husband's illegal activity cannot suffice as evidence of collusion, for knowledge of the existence and goals of a conspiracy does not of itself make one a coconspirator. United States v. Cianchetti, 315 F.2d 584, 588 (2d Cir. 1963). Had there been evidence beyond mere knowledge to prove an agreement with Mr. von Hofe, our task would be easy. The reasonably foreseeable actions of Harold von Hofe would be attributable to his wife. See United States v. Milstein, 401 F.3d 53, 72 (2d Cir.2005). Without evidence indicating involvement beyond knowledge, the government finds itself characterizing Mrs. von Hofe's culpability in terms wholly unrelated to her actual conduct. Mrs. von Hofe suggests the punishments available for simple possession of marijuana should control, claiming her Alford plea to simple possession was the offense giving rise to the forfeiture. 18 U.S.C. § 983(g)(2). Were this an in personam forfeiture, Kathleen von Hofe's argument might have some traction  an in personam forfeiture hinges on criminal conviction. See Bajakajian, 524 U.S. at 328, 118 S.Ct. 2028. But criminal conviction of a claimant either in state or federal court is neither a necessary nor sufficient precondition to an in rem forfeiture. In this case, the government asserted a substantial connection between 32 Medley Lane and violations of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 & 846. Only if the government carried its burden of proving this substantial connection by a preponderance of the evidence could the forfeiture occur. Because forfeiture of 32 Medley Lane turned on its connection to these two offenses, they are the offense[s] giving rise to the forfeiture, not Mrs. von Hofe's Alford plea to possession of marijuana. 18 U.S.C. § 983(g)(2). Pressing its contention that Mrs. von Hofe should suffer forfeiture for her knowledge of the conduct occurring at 32 Medley Lane, the government points to Collado and suggests that Mrs. von Hofe's knowledge of her husband's conduct likens her to a violator of 21 U.S.C. § 856, the so-called crack house statute. See Gov't Br. at 23. This statute prohibits a person from (1) knowingly, (2) opening or maintaining a building, (3) for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using, a controlled substance. Id. § 856(a)(1); see also United States v. Snow, 462 F.3d 55, 70-71 (2d Cir.2006). A violation of the crack house statute carries significant penalties: a statutory maximum punishment of twenty years imprisonment and a $500,000 fine, 21 U.S.C § 856(b); and a Guidelines maximum of six to twelve months imprisonment and a fine of $2,000 to $20,000 when sixty-five marijuana plants are at issue, see U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual §§ 2D1.8(a), 4A1.1, 5A, & 5E1.2(b)(3). Any reliance on the crack house statute to assess Mrs. von Hofe's culpability or the seriousness of her offense would be erroneous. The government sought forfeiture of the von Hofe residence under the theory that it facilitated violations of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846, viz., the manufacture and distribution of marijuana, and conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana. Under the legal fiction of an in rem forfeiture, these are the offenses that taint the property and thus, for purposes of our proportionality review, the offense[s] giving rise to the forfeiture. 18 U.S.C. § 983(g)(2). Indeed, this result is entirely consistent with Collado, for there the property was subject to forfeiture because it facilitated violations of the crack house statute and 21 U.S.C. § 841. 348 F.3d at 325. On balance, forfeiture of Kathleen von Hofe's interest in 32 Medley Lane is an excessive fine. We do not dispute Congress's judgment regarding the pernicious effects caused by illicit drugs, either through health problems, lost productivity, or their connection to other illegal activity. Nor do we doubt that forfeiture of real property creates an incentive for property owners to abate any criminal activity occurring on their property. But the severity of the problem cannot excuse the need for scrupulous adherence to our constitutional principles. Grady v. Corbin, 495 U.S. 508, 524, 110 S.Ct. 2084, 109 L.Ed.2d 548 (1990). Mrs. von Hofe's offensive conduct boils down to her joint ownership of 32 Medley Lane and silence in the face of her husband's decision to grow marijuana in their basement almost thirty years into their marriage. And yet she is being punished as if she were distributing drugs, when the district court concluded as a matter of fact that she had no knowledge of any distribution or remuneration. See 32 Medley Lane, 372 F.Supp.2d at 255. The government cannot justify forfeiture of Mrs. von Hofe's interest in 32 Medley Lane, for the punishment bears no reasonable correlation either to her minimal culpability or any harm she caused.