United States v. Izhak Cohen

243 F. App'x 531
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 13, 2007
Docket07-10626
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 243 F. App'x 531 (United States v. Izhak Cohen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Izhak Cohen, 243 F. App'x 531 (11th Cir. 2007).

Opinion

*533 PER CURIAM:

Limor Tevet appeals the district court’s denial of her third-party claim to $426,900 subject to forfeiture as a result of Izhak Cohen’s conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute ecstasy, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). We address Tevet’s issues on appeal in turn.

I.

Tevet first asserts the district court erred in admitting the transcript of the preliminary forfeiture hearing, specifically the testimony of a jailhouse informant, because the informant did not appear at her ancillary hearing and, thus, was not subject to cross-examination. Citing the three-part balancing test articulated in Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 96 S.Ct. 893, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (1976), Tevet contends the district court violated her right to due process and should have employed different procedures, specifically by (1) allowing her to cross-examine the informant at the preliminary hearing, (2) allowing her to cross-examine the informant at the ancillary hearing, or (3) refusing to admit the informant’s prior testimony.

In Mathews, the Supreme Court set forth three factors to be considered in determining whether procedures in administrative proceedings comport -with due process. 96 S.Ct. at 903. These factors include: (1) “the private interest that will be affected by the official action;” (2) “the risk of an erroneous deprivation of such interest through the procedures used, and the probable value, if any, of additional or substitute procedural safeguards;” and (3) “the Government’s interest, including the function involved and the fiscal and administrative burdens that the additional or substitute procedural requirement would entail.” Id. We have applied the Mathews analysis to determine whether procedures used in civil proceedings satisfy due process. See United States v. Wattleton, 296 F.3d 1184, 1198 (11th Cir.2002).

Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(k), “[except as provided in subsection (n) of this section, no party claiming an interest in property subject to forfeiture ... may ... intervene in a trial or appeal of a criminal case involving the forfeiture of such property under this section.” Under 21 U.S.C. § 853(n)(5), at the hearing on petitioner’s claim to the forfeited property,

the petitioner may testify and present evidence and witnesses on [her] own behalf, and cross-examine witnesses who appear at the hearing. The United States may present evidence and witnesses in rebuttal and in defense of its claim to the property and cross-examine witnesses who appear at the hearing. In addition to testimony and evidence presented at the hearing, the court shall consider the relevant portions of the record of the criminal case which resulted in the order of forfeiture.

The testimony of the jailhouse informant and other witnesses at the preliminary forfeiture hearing was a relevant and necessary part of the record in the underlying criminal case and the district court did not abuse its discretion in considering it pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(n)(5). See Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co. v. Cedar Shipping Co., 320 F.3d 1213, 1216 (11th Cir.2003) (stating we review a district court’s evidentiary rulings for an abuse of discretion). Importantly, Tevet does not argue that § 853 itself is unconstitutional. Rather, Tevet argues that § 853 should be interpreted to extend her right to cross-examine witnesses at the ancillary hearing to all adverse evidence presented throughout the course of the forfeiture proceedings. The record indicates, however, that Tevet was only denied the opportunity to cross-examine the jailhouse informant in *534 sofar as she was statutorily barred from intervening in the preliminary forfeiture hearing pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(k). Under § 853(n), Tevet had the opportunity to address these circumstances at the ancillary hearing on her claim by presenting the jailhouse informant as a 'witness. Tevet chose not to avail herself of that opportunity. When weighed against the Government’s interest in enforcing criminal forfeiture penalties, Tevet has failed to demonstrate that the district court’s application of the procedures in 21 U.S.C. § 853 violated her due process rights. See Mathews, 96 S.Ct. at 903.

II.

Tevet next asserts she had a superior “legal right, title, or interest” in the money, noting she was the only person to assert a claim as to the money in the safe deposit box and asserting she was the only person who had access to the box, which was registered to her parents. She further contends the district court erroneously imposed a heightened standard of proof, requiring her to establish “a nexus” between her conduct and the money in order to determine whether the money belonged to her.

Cohen was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute ecstasy, 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(a),

[a]ny person convicted of a violation of this subchapter ... punishable by imprisonment for more than one year shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of State law—
(1) any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly, as the result of such violation;
(2) any of the person’s property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit, or to facilitate the commission of, such violation.

Section 853(n)(6) provides two ways in which third-party claimants can establish their interest in forfeited property. United States v. Soreide, 461 F.3d 1351, 1354-55 (11th Cir.2006). Under this section,

[i]f, after the hearing [on the third-party claimant’s petition], the court determines that the petitioner has established by a preponderance of the evidence that—

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Bluebook (online)
243 F. App'x 531, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-izhak-cohen-ca11-2007.