Richard Martinez v. United States

In October 1970, the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) assessed Martinez a $120,000 tax under the Marijuana Tax Act, 26 U.S.C. § 4741 et seq. It then levied on $12,100 cash and a car in his possession when local police arrested him in October on suspicion of theft.

Martinez filed a claim for refund in 1973, which was denied. This suit followed, and the district court granted the government summary judgment. On appeal, Martinez makes several claims, including: (1) that the Marijuana Tax Act is unconstitutional, (2) that the Act was discriminatorily enforced against him, (3) that the IRS could not levy on property that was illegally seized from him by state police, (4) that the levy procedure was an illegal forfeiture, and (5) that the assessment of tax in October was improper under 26 U.S.C. § 6862 relating to jeopardy assessments. We need not reach these claims because we hold that the seizure procedures used were improper and that Martinez is entitled to a return of his property on those grounds.

Section 6331 of the Internal Revenue Code sets forth the procedure the IRS must follow to levy upon a taxpayer’s property. Normally, the taxpayer is given notice of any deficiency and a…