City of Birmingham v. Alexander

161 So. 3d 1188, 2013 WL 3770803, 2013 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 153
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedJuly 19, 2013
Docket2120188
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 161 So. 3d 1188 (City of Birmingham v. Alexander) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Birmingham v. Alexander, 161 So. 3d 1188, 2013 WL 3770803, 2013 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 153 (Ala. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This is the second time this civil-forfeiture matter has come before this court. Ernest Alexander filed an action against the City of Birmingham (“the city”) in the Jefferson Circuit Court (“the trial court”) seeking the return of cash seized during a search of his residence. Alexander asserted that he was entitled to the return of the cash because, although a forfeiture proceeding had been prosecuted in federal court, no state forfeiture proceeding had been initiated. Alexander v. City of Birmingham, 99 So.3d 1251, 1252 (Ala.Civ.App.2012).

The city moved for a summary judgment, asserting, among other things, that the trial court lacked jurisdiction

“because, it said, the cash had at all relevant times been in the possession of federal agents, who had participated in the search and had delivered the cash to the [federal Drug Enforcement Administration (‘DEA’) ]. In the alternative, the city argued that, even if the cash initially had been seized by [Birmingham Police Department (‘BPD’) ] officers, exclusive federal jurisdiction over any in rem proceeding against the cash attached — pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 881 and the doctrine of adoptive forfeiture — when the cash was transferred to the DEA.
“Alexander filed a cross-motion for a summary judgment in his favor, arguing that the circuit court had constructive control, and thus exclusive in rem jurisdiction, over the case by virtue of the search warrant issued by the Jefferson District Court.”

Alexander, 99 So.3d at 1253.

After a hearing on the parties’ motions, the trial court entered a summary judgment in favor of the city. Id. This court, relying on Green v. City of Montgomery, 55 So.3d 256, 259 (Ala.Civ.App.2009), and Ex parte Bingham, 129 So.3d 1017 (Ala.[1190]*1190Civ.App.2012), reversed the summary-judgment, stating:

“ ‘In Green [ v. City of Montgomery ], we described how the adoptive-seizure process works:
“ '“The adoptive-seizure process begins when state or local authorities seize property as part of a criminal investigation or arrest. Generally, the state or local officials either make a determination that forfeiture is not possible under state law or conclude that it is advantageous to them to transfer the matter to federal authorities for a federal administrative forfeiture proceeding. See I.R.S. Manual 9.7.2.7.3 (July 25, 2007); Asset Forfeiture Law, Practice, and Policy, Asset Forfeiture Office, Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice, Vol. I (1988) at 38 (cited in Johnson v. Johnson, 849 P.2d 1361, 1363 (Alaska 1993)). Once state or local officials have determined that an adoptive seizure is advantageous, they file a request with federal authorities. The appropriate federal agency then decides whether to accept or reject the request. If the adoptive-seizure request is accepted, the property is taken into the custody of federal agents and federal administrative forfeiture proceedings begin. At the successful conclusion of those proceedings, usually 80% of the forfeited property is given back to the state or local agency.”
“‘55 So.3d [256,] 258 [ (Ala.Civ.App.2009) ].’
“We note that, in Green, Montgomery police officers ‘filled out the requisite forms to begin the adoptive-seizure process .... ’ and that the United States Department of the Treasury reviewed the request to determine whether it would accept the adoptive seizure. Green, 55 So.3d at 258. In Edney v. City of Montgomery, 960 F.Supp. 270 (M.D.Ala.1997), Montgomery police officers seized approximately $280,000 in cash from Edney and another man who had been detained at the Montgomery airport. After the seizure, ‘the DEA adopted the city’s seizure by authorizing the city to seize the money on behalf of the DEA and to transfer the money to the DEA.’ Id. at 273. The federal district court found that the DEA had adopted the seizure of the currency at issue: thus, the federal court had jurisdiction. See also United States v. $119,000 in United States Currency, 793 F.Supp. 246, 248 (D.Haw.1992) (in adoptive-seizure case, a Honolulu police officer ‘requested that the DEA adopt the state seizure for federal forfeiture’ and transferred the currency to the DEA).
“In this case, there is no evidence indicating that the adoptive-seizure process was ever begun, much less brought to fruition. A BPD officer provided the affidavit from which the Jefferson District Court issued the warrant, which stated that the BPD was to hold any items seized pursuant to the warrant ‘until further order from the District Court of Jefferson County, Alabama.’ According to the DEA’s investigative report, two BPD officers discovered and seized the money at issue. The money was taken to the BPD’s facility, where a drug-detecting dog alerted on the money. At that point, a law-enforcement officer who had been deputized as a DEA agent sealed the money in an envelope and deposited it with the DEA. There is no evidence indicating that there was a decision made by any state or local officials that ‘forfeiture [was] not possible under state law or ... that it [was] advantageous to them to transfer the matter to federal authorities for a [1191]*1191federal administrative forfeiture proceeding.’ Green, 55 So.3d at 258 (and authorities cited therein). Likewise, there is no evidence indicating that the BPD, the Jefferson County district attorney, the Jefferson County district court or circuit court, or any other state agent or official filed a request for the DEA to adopt the seizure. In addition, there is no evidence indicating that ‘the appropriate federal agency’ decided whether to accept or reject the request. The evidence submitted indicates that federal ‘control’ of the money came about because one person, John Walker, deposited the money in the DEA overnight drop box and then later took the money to a bank and had a check made out to the United States Marshal. The check was then given to a federal agent. Walker’s actions are insufficient to establish that the adoptive-seizure doctrine is applicable in this case. In fact, the evidence indicates that depositing the money in the overnight drop box was a violation of the Jefferson District Court’s command that law-enforcement officials hold the money and other seized items until further order from the court.”

Alexander, 99 So.3d at 1255-56.

This court concluded that the evidence in the record indicated that jurisdiction of this matter vested in the state court upon the Jefferson District Court’s issuance of the warrant to search Alexander’s residence. This court then held that

“[t]he city failed to present sufficient evidence from which to find, as a matter of law, that the federal court had obtained jurisdiction over the money at issue or that the state court had been divested of jurisdiction in this case; thus the city failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that there were no genuine issues of material fact and that it was entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”

Id. at 1256. The summary judgment was reversed, and the cause was remanded to the trial court for further proceedings. Id. at 1257.

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Related

City of Birmingham v. Alexander
161 So. 3d 1195 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 2014)

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Bluebook (online)
161 So. 3d 1188, 2013 WL 3770803, 2013 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 153, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-birmingham-v-alexander-alacivapp-2013.