United States v. One Hundred Twenty-two Thousand Forty-three Dollars ($122,043.00) In United States Currency

The government filed a complaint for civil forfeiture against the defendant currency, alleging a violation of the currency reporting requirement for transporting more than $5,000 in monetary instruments outside the United States. Cynthia Johnson Meixner, claimant of the currency, timely appeals from the district court’s order granting summary judgment for the government, 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

I

On April 25,1983, Cynthia Johnson Meixner arrived at Los Angeles International Airport uniquely attired for international travel. She was wearing a blouse and pants that concealed the leotards and tights she wore underneath. Inside the tights were six sewn pockets, and inside the pockets were secreted stacks of one-hundred dollar bills. Meixner entered the airport that day literally wearing $60,000 in United States Currency.

Meixner had her passport and a one-way, first-class* airline ticket to Lima, Peru aboard Varig flight 833. 1 The ticket had been purchased with cash. She also had with her luggage, containing $60,600 in United States Currency, and her handbag, containing another $1,443. Meixner checked her luggage before she headed for the departure area.

*1472 About ten…

dissenting in part:

This court today affirms the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the government in its action for civil forfeiture against the defendant currency. The majority concludes that Cynthia Johnson Meixner, the claimant of the currency, violated the currency reporting laws by failing to report the transportation of more than $5,000 in monetary instruments outside the United States as required under 31 U.S.C. § 5317 (1982).

I cannot agree that an individual, who was prevented by customs agents from filing a currency transportation report after she was stopped on the jetway to an international flight, can be regarded as having failed to make a report at the “time of departure” from the United States as provided by the applicable regulation. Before the government may invoke the harsh penalty of forfeiture, constitutional due process requires the government to demark a reasonably definite point at which the duty to file a currency transportation report arises. Because I conclude that the phrase “time of departure” is impermissibly vague as applied in this case, I respectfully dissent. 1

I

Background

On April 25,1983, Cynthia Johnson Meixner arrived at Los…