Opinion ID: 660299
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Excessive Fine Under the Eighth Amendment

Text: 32 The Delios contend that the forfeiture of their home worth $150,000.00 as a penalty for the underlying gambling offense is so grossly disproportionate that it violates the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines Clause. 33 The government answers that the Delios have waived this argument because they abandoned the issue in the district court and failed to raise it in their initial appellate briefs. We are not persuaded. While the appeal was pending, but before oral argument, the Supreme Court decided Austin v. United States, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 2801, 125 L.Ed.2d 488 (1993). We granted the application for supplemental briefs addressing the effect of the Court's holding that civil forfeitures are punishment, thereby implicating the Eighth Amendment prohibition against excessive fines. We may address an issue on appeal even though raised for the first time if, as here, it involves a pure legal issue and failure to consider it would result in a miscarriage of justice. Fane v. Edenfield, 945 F.2d 1514, 1519 n. 11 (11th Cir.1991), aff'd, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 1792, 123 L.Ed.2d 543 (1993). 34 In Austin, the owner of real property occupied by his mobile home and auto body shop sold two ounces of cocaine on the premises. A subsequent search of the premises revealed small amounts of marijuana and cocaine, drug paraphernalia, a gun and $4,700.00 in cash. The owner pled guilty to state criminal charges. The United States instituted civil in rem forfeiture proceedings against the real property. The owner defended upon the grounds that the forfeiture of his property was so grossly disproportionate to the offense as to violate the Eighth Amendment Excessive Fines Clause. The Supreme Court held that a forfeiture of real property is subject to the limitations of the Eighth Amendment. The Court did not rule out the possibility that the connection between the property and the offense may be relevant to the measure of an in rem forfeiture's excessiveness, but nevertheless concluded that this in no way limits the lower courts from considering other factors in determining whether the forfeiture of the property was excessive. --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2812. 35 Examining this case through the lens of Austin, and accepting the fact that Emilio Delio used his home for a gambling operation in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1955, we conclude, under the particular facts of this case, that the forfeiture of his home, of an arguable value of $150,000.00, is an imposition of a disproportionate penalty. 36 We are mindful of the legislative history behind Section 1955. The House Report accompanying this Act states, in part: [T]he provisions of this title do not apply to gambling that is sporadic or of insignificant monetary proportions. It is intended to reach only those persons who prey systematically upon our citizens and whose syndicated operations are so continuous and so substantial as to be of national concern..... H.R.Rep. No. 91-1549, 91st Cong., 2d Sess. 53 (1970) reprinted in 1970 U.S.C.C.A.N. 4007, 4029. 37 The government relies on United States v. Premises Known As 318 South Third Street, 988 F.2d 822 (8th Cir.1993), in which the government brought a civil forfeiture action against property used to house a gambling business. The court held that the forfeiture of the property was not a disproportionate penalty. We agree with the result reached in that case, but the underlying facts materially differ from those in this case. There the court found that: [T]he Association is part of a national organization which facilitated gambling in its member chapters by soliciting contributions to the gambling 'bank.' This national organization received a percentage of the profits realized from the illegal gambling operations of its member chapters. Id. at 829. 38