Court Opinion

ID: 989020
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2013-07-03 23:01:00.254155+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:19:58.419591
License: Public Domain

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

ANTHONY D. HAWKS,
Claimant-Appellant,

and

17,188.00 U. S. CURRENCY,
Plaintiff,                                                        No. 95-7844

v.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; DRUG
ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION,
Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore.
Frederic N. Smalkin, District Judge.
(CA-95-2500-S)

Submitted: March 29, 1996

Decided: April 18, 1996

Before MURNAGHAN, HAMILTON, and WILLIAMS,
Circuit Judges.

_________________________________________________________________

Affirmed by an unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

Anthony D. Hawks, Appellant Pro Se. Lynne Ann Battaglia, United
States Attorney, Andrea L. Smith, OFFICE OF THE UNITED
STATES ATTORNEY, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Anthony D. Hawks appeals from the district court's order dismiss-
ing his motion for return of property following a summary administra-
tive forfeiture. Before this Court, Hawks raises, for the first time, a
double jeopardy challenge and moves for the production of several
documents. We affirm.

In the district court, Hawks argued that the forfeited currency bore
no relation to drug activity and that it was seized during a warrantless
search of his home in violation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) moved to dismiss,
arguing that Hawks did not intervene in the forfeiture proceeding and
therefore the court was without subject matter jurisdiction. Hawks
responded, arguing that he did properly respond within the period pre-
scribed by the DEA's notice of seizure. The district court, however,
found that Hawks did not properly intervene and dismissed the action,
relying on Matter of $67,470.00, 901 F.2d 1540, 1543-46 (11th Cir.
1990), for the assertion that this failure deprived it of subject matter
jurisdiction.

Our review of the record reveals that the district court was correct
in its finding that Hawks failed to properly intervene. Further, we note
that although the court did have limited jurisdiction to review the for-
feiture to determine whether the proper procedural safeguards were
followed, Scarabin v. Drug Enforcement Admin. , 919 F.2d 337, 338
(5th Cir. 1990); see also United States v. Woodall, 12 F.3d 791, 795
(8th Cir. 1993) (holding that district courts have equitable jurisdiction
to review an administrative forfeiture to determine if proper notice
was provided), Hawks did not challenge the DEA's adherence to
these safeguards. Rather, he raised only substantive challenges to the
forfeitures. These challenges, however, were waived by Hawks' fail-
ure to intervene.1 Woodall , 12 F.3d at 795. Thus, we find the district
_________________________________________________________________
1 Given this waiver, we deny Hawks' motion for production of docu-
ments because the documents he seeks relate only to substantive claims.

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court's refusal to consider these claims and its subsequent dismissal
to be proper. We therefore affirm that order.2 We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately pres-
ented in the materials before the Court and argument would not aid
the decisional process.

AFFIRMED
_________________________________________________________________
2 We do not address Hawks' double jeopardy claim as it was not raised
below and we find no plain error existing to warrant review of this for-
feited claim. See United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725 (1993).

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