United States v. $191,910.00 in U.S. Currency, Bruce R. Morgan, Claimant-Appellee

Bad Law

16 F.3d 1051·94 Daily Journal DAR 2139·1994 WL 46744·1994 U.S. App. LEXIS 2681·94 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 1214

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitFebruary 18, 199492-15583California14,090 words

Opinion

Reinhardt, J.

This case involves the federal government’s increasingly widespread use of civil forfeitures to achieve the goals of criminal law enforcement in what used to be called the “war on drugs.” The government sought to forfeit $191,910.00 seized from claimant-appellee Bruce R. Morgan. The district court granted Morgan’s motion for summary judgment on the ground that the government failed to establish probable cause for the institution of forfeiture proceedings, and the government appealed. We affirm.

I.

Morgan’s encounter with the law began on March 14, 1990, in the San Diego airport. As Morgan passed through Flight Terminal Security (FTS), the FTS officer operating the X-ray machine observed what appeared to be stacks of currency in his bags. The FTS supervisor asked Morgan if she could look inside his bags. Morgan consented, and the supervisor then removed several envelopes from the bags, and ran them through the X-ray machine again. When she asked Morgan what was in the envelopes, he claimed that they only contained pamphlets or brochures. However, her electronic search revealed that the envelopes contained currency.

The FTS personnel allowed Morgan to proceed to the gate with his…

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Parties

UNITED STATES of America-
Plaintiff
$191,910.00 IN U.S. CURRENCY. Bruce R. Morgan, Claimant-
Defendant

Judges

Reinhardt
Leavy
Merhige

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