Court Opinion

ID: 9475424
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 05:27:04.004959+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:44:42.914671
License: Public Domain

COFFIN, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur with the judgment of the court and with its opinion. Although I agree that we cannot properly review the denial of appellant’s Rule 41(e) motion in the context of this appeal, I am disturbed by the district court’s finding that Fed.R.Crim.P. 41(e) is “not applicable” to this proceeding. Application of Kingsley, 614 F.Supp. 219, 221 n. 1 (D.Mass.1985). There can be no doubt that forfeiture pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881 is a “civil, in rem action that is independent of any factually related criminal actions.” United States v. One 197) Porsche 911-S, 682 F.2d 283, 285 (1st Cir. 1982). Due to the quasi-criminal nature of administrative forfeiture proceedings, however, claimants must be permitted to seek the return of property seized in violation of the Constitution by filing a motion pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 41(e). See United States v. Eight Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($8,850) in United States Currency, 461 U.S. 555, 569, 103 S.Ct. 2005, 2014, 76 L.Ed.2d 143 (1984) (In an administrative forfeiture case, “[i]f claimant believes the initial seizure is improper, he could file a motion under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(e) for the return of seized property.”). If district courts uniformly refuse to entertain such motions, then claimants in Kingsley’s position would possess no effective means to challenge the constitutionality of preindictment seizures and no immediate prospect of regaining possession of their property.
I also agree with my brother Torruella that the government’s seizure of Kingsley’s home in this case violated due process. Prior to initiating the preindictment seizure of a home pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881, the government must be required to demonstrate before a magistrate that preseizure notice would likely render the property unavailable for forfeiture and that less restrictive means to protect the legitimate governmental interest in the property do not exist. See 21 U.S.C. § 853(e)(2), (f). Absent such extraordinary circumstances, due process does not permit the government to initiate the forfeiture of a home by preindictment seizure without first affording the opportunity for an adversary hearing. I therefore agree with my brother Torruella that the district court, if asked to reconsider Kingsley’s Rule 41(e) motion, should entertain the motion and rule on its merits in light of the constitutional standard we have elaborated in our separate opinions.