Court Opinion

ID: 9763593
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 02:50:24.403535+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:46.557862
License: Public Domain

DEL SOLE, Judge,
concurring:
While I concur in the result reached by the majority in this matter, I write to explain my view that we should not even reach the issue of whether the fund was derivative contraband.
The record reflects that on September 8, 1982, the Appellant secured a judgment against Swanson Brown by virtue of a note which was filed in the prothonotary’s office in Dauphin County. This matter was assigned No. 2916 N. 1982. On January 25, 1983, a writ of execution was issued on the judgment naming as garnishees, Richard A. Lewis the District Attorney of Dauphin County, Kenneth Barbish a County Detective, the Harrisburg Police Department and Detective John Goshert of that department. Between January 28, 1983 and February 1, 1983, the Sheriff served the writ on the garnishees so named. The item sought to be garnished was the sum of money, which was described as “1,450 more or less”.
*119On February 7, 1983, the garnishee petitioned the court for a stay of execution and filed preliminary objections. A rule was granted on the Appellant to show cause why the execution should not be stayed pending the outcome of the underlying criminal action or determination on a contemporaneously filed petition in forfeiture. The rule was returnable in 20 days.
The Commonwealth filed a petition in forfeiture, Commonwealth v. One Thousand Four Hundred Fifty Dollars U.S. Currency, at No. 38 MD 1983 in the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania and sought forfeiture of the fund held by the District Attorney as derivative contraband. Said sum of money having been confiscated by the authorities at the time of the arrest of Swanson Brown on drug charges.
Subsequently, a hearing was held in the forfeiture proceeding and the court determined that the money was derivative contraband and ordered a forfeiture. The court stayed the execution as to the garnishees in the case at 2916 N. 1982. It is from the order in the case at 2916 N. 1982 that the Appellant appeals.
Forfeiture in this case was ordered in the forfeiture proceeding, Commonwealth v. One Thousand Four Hundred U.S. Currency, at No. 38 MD 1983 in which the Appellant did not petition to intervene nor from which did Appellant take an appeal. Therefore, no appeal having been filed from the case wherein the court declared a forfeiture, I would not reach the issue. While there is no question that the Appellant would have had standing to pursue the claim in the forfeiture action, had he petitioned to intervene in that action, Appellant did not do so.
The Appellant cannot collaterally attack a determination by the trial court made in another proceeding which has litigated title to the fund. The mere fact that the writ of execution garnishing the fund was filed before the petition for forfeiture does not automatically give Appellant standing in the forfeiture action.