Opinion ID: 660299
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Homestead Property

Text: 25 The claimants contend that, as a matter of law, their Florida homestead property, 4 is exempt from forfeiture even if used in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1955. See Butterworth v. Caggiano, 605 So.2d 56 (Fla.1992) (denying forfeiture of homestead under Florida RICO Act). The RICO Act considered in Caggiano concerned a state forfeiture statute, Sec. 895.05(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1989). The question here, however, is whether a Florida homestead is subject to forfeiture under the provisions of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1955(d), in light of Florida's constitutional sanctity of the home. 26 The Delios concede that state constitutional provisions cannot obstruct the uniform national enforcement of federal criminal statutes or those federal forfeiture laws intended to have uniform application throughout the nation. See United States v. Rodgers, 461 U.S. 677, 103 S.Ct. 2132, 76 L.Ed.2d 236 (1983) (federal tax collection). But, the Delios argue that a distinction should be made in applying 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1955 because that statute incorporates state law to define its applicability to gambling activities which are declared illegal within each individual state. 27 Section 1955 borrows state law only for the limited purpose of defining the conduct that is prohibited as illegal gambling. Incorporation of state law for other purposes has been rejected in United States v. Revel, 493 F.2d 1 (5th Cir.1974) (state statutes of limitation not incorporated); United States v. Sacco, 491 F.2d 995, 1003 (9th Cir.1974) (state procedural rules not incorporated). There is no indication that Congress intended state law to be incorporated as a limitation on the forfeiture provisions of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1955. The imposition of the forfeiture penalty pursuant to section 1955(d) follows from a finding that illegal gambling, as defined by the state, has occurred under section 1955(b)(1)(i). Revel, 493 F.2d at 3. 28 The enactment of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1955 as part of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, Pub.L. No. 91-452, 84 Stat. 922, was based on an enunciated policy of Congress to reach continuous and substantial gambling operations, and serves a national purpose. We therefore find unpersuasive the argument of claimants that [a]s opposed to narcotics, there is no national objective to rid the United States of gambling. 29 We conclude that the state exemption from forfeiture based on the Florida homestead law is preempted in a forfeiture action brought under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1955(d), thereby making the exemption unavailable to the Delios for this purpose.