UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Dwayne Keith FITZEN, Defendant-Appellant
Opinion
Opinion
Rymer, J.
Dwayne Keith Fitzen appeals pro se the district court’s partial denial of his Fed. R.Crim.P. 41(e) motion for return of property seized during the investigation by state and federal officials leading to his trial and conviction in federal court of various drug trafficking offenses. The district court refused to order return of the property on the ground that Fitzen’s remedy, if any, lay in state court. We have jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.
I
In the summer of 1991, a joint state/federal task force began investigating Fitzen. Members of the task force included representatives of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Idaho Bureau of Narcotics (IBN), and the local police department. Pursuant to a federal search warrant, agents seized the property at issue in this case. Fitzen was indicted and convicted of various drug trafficking offenses in federal court.
Subsequently, Fitzen sought return of the seized property pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 41(e). In response to Fitzen’s 41(e) motion, the federal government indicated that all of the property was in the possession of the IBN. The government conceded that the property was no longer…