State v. 175,800 DOLLARS, US CURRENCY

942 P.2d 343
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 18, 1997
Docket960046
StatusPublished

This text of 942 P.2d 343 (State v. 175,800 DOLLARS, US CURRENCY) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. 175,800 DOLLARS, US CURRENCY, 942 P.2d 343 (Utah 1997).

Opinion

942 P.2d 343 (1997)

STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee,
v.
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS, UNITED STATES CURRENCY, and one Scale, Defendant.
Darold Hinsch, Appellant.

No. 960046.

Supreme Court of Utah.

July 18, 1997.

*345 E. Neal Gunnarson, Clark A. Harms, Salt Lake City, for appellee.

G. Fred Metos, Salt Lake City, for appellant.

RUSSON, Justice:

The State filed a complaint for forfeiture of proceeds received from the sale of illegal drugs after convicting claimant Darold Hinsch of possession of a controlled substance. Hinsch filed a claim for this money, which he had previously turned over to government agents. He argued that seizure of the money was improper and that forfeiture, coupled with his conviction, violated his constitutional protection against double jeopardy. The trial court ruled against him on both counts. It is from this ruling that Hinsch appeals. We affirm the trial court's decision.

BACKGROUND

Agents from the Metro Narcotic Strike Force executed a search warrant on Darold Hinsch authorizing the agents to search his person, residence, business, and truck for narcotics. The agents searched Hinsch's premises and found illicit drugs which served as the basis for his subsequent conviction. Hinsch was not present during the search, although his wife and two friends were. No arrests were made at that time.

Subsequently, agents located and arrested Hinsch. During an interview after he had been given his Miranda[1] warning, Hinsch expressed concern that his wife and friends not be arrested. On his own initiative, he offered to cooperate with the investigation in exchange for possible leniency toward the others. Detective Scharman informed him that though his wife and associates were still under investigation, he would discuss Hinsch's cooperation with the county attorney when determining whether they would be charged with crimes. Hinsch was told, however, that Scharman needed Hinsch's full cooperation in this regard.

Hinsch directed the officers to various sums of money received as payment for narcotics. He led them to a storage unit where most of the money at issue was hidden. He also directed them to another cache hidden in some shrubbery at a shopping center. Still later, Hinsch notified the agents of a drug payment that was to be wired to him. In total, Hinsch voluntarily turned over $175,800, which he admitted were proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs.

Hinsch was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and subsequently pled guilty to and was convicted of the reduced charge of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced on November 8, 1993, to thirty-six months' probation, including twelve months in jail. Subsequent to his conviction, the State filed an in rem civil complaint against *346 the money proceeds that Hinsch admitted he had received from the sale of drugs. The State sought forfeiture of the same. The trial held in June of 1995 resulted in a judgment of forfeiture.

On appeal, Hinsch argues that the trial court did not have jurisdiction over the money in question. This is so, he claims, because the money was seized without a warrant, and none of the statutory exceptions to the warrant requirement applied. Hinsch further argues that any consent he gave to the seizure of the property was given involuntarily. He also claims that the State was required to show that in consenting to seizure of the property, he knew of his constitutional rights and knowingly waived them, which the State failed to do. Finally, Hinsch contends that inasmuch as he had already been convicted of illegal possession of drugs, forfeiture of the drug proceeds amounts to a second punishment prohibited by the double jeopardy clauses of both the state and federal constitutions.

The State responds that the trial court had proper in rem jurisdiction and that seizure of the drug proceeds was proper inasmuch as Hinsch voluntarily consented to it. The State also contends that because this was a civil forfeiture action brought against the property, it does not amount to punishment and does not, therefore, subject Hinsch to double jeopardy.

The two major issues before this court on appeal are (1) whether seizure of the drug proceeds was proper and (2) if so, whether forfeiture of the seized drug proceeds was punishment under double jeopardy analysis.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Whether consent is an exception to a warrantless seizure is a question of law to be reviewed for correctness. State v. Thurman, 846 P.2d 1256, 1271 (Utah 1993). The trial court's ultimate conclusion that consent was or was not voluntary is reviewed for correctness. Id. The underlying facts of the alleged consent, however, are reviewed under a clearly erroneous standard. Id. In regard to consent to search, the trial court is granted only limited discretion in its application of the legal standard of consent to the facts. See State v. Pena, 869 P.2d 932, 938 (Utah 1994) (citing policy concerns raised in Thurman, 846 P.2d at 1269-71, as reason for narrowing trial court's discretion). Likewise, regarding consent to seizure, the trial court is granted only limited discretion. Also, constitutional questions, such as whether forfeiture is punitive and therefore barred in this case by the constitutional protections against double jeopardy, are questions of law and therefore reviewed for correctness. Ryan v. Gold Cross Servs., Inc., 903 P.2d 423, 424 (Utah 1995).

ANALYSIS

I. WAS THE SEIZURE PROPER?

A. Consent as an Exception

While consent is a well-recognized exception to the warrant requirement for searches, Hinsch argues that consent to seizure is not. He argues that the agents' seizure of the drug proceeds violated his constitutional rights inasmuch as it was done without a warrant and that none of the exceptions set forth in the statute under which the property was seized applied. The statute establishes certain exceptions when property may be seized without a warrant, but consent is not one of them.[2]

However, the State argues that consent is a common law exception and need not rely on statutory authority. The State argues that we should recognize consent as an exception to warrantless seizures as we do with respect to warrantless searches. It also points out *347 that consent is a recognized exception to warrantless seizures in both federal search and seizure law. It further argues that because consent is explicitly made an exception in a related statute that addresses administrative searches and seizures, Utah Code Ann. § 58-37-10, it should also be recognized as an exception here. In support thereof, the State cites Davis v. State, 813 P.2d 1178 (Utah 1991), a case that involved the forfeiture of a van that was used for personal possession and consumption of a controlled substance. In a footnote to that case, this court compared this statute with a statute addressing administrative search and seizure, Utah Code Ann. § 58-37-10

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942 P.2d 343, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-175800-dollars-us-currency-utah-1997.