Court Opinion

ID: 9443133
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 19:11:54.07974+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:29:23.010138
License: Public Domain

MAJOR, Chief Judge
(dissenting).
I would affirm the judgment on the basis of the findings of the trial court. Certainly I do not share the view that they are clearly erroneous. It was the car which was the accused, it was charged with the offense, and not Moses. If the accused had been a person, I think there would be no question but that the statements made by Moses, as well as the contraband found in his pocket at a time when he was completely disassociated from the accused, would be inadmissible against the latter (in the absence of a conspiracy). I discern no reason why the same rule should not apply as to the accused car. The majority appears to concede that statements made by Moses were not competent but at the same time relies, improperly so I think, upon the contraband found in his pocket as evidence against the car. With the exclusion of this evidence, there remains nothing against the *762car. But even if it be accepted, its connection with the car rests upon nothing more than guess or speculation. Therefore, the government is in no position to claim the benefit of Sec. 1615, which places the burden of proof on a claimant. Congress, in my view, has made the forfeiture law sufficiently drástic and I am not in favor of increasing the severity by judicial decree.,