State v. Burford
State v. Burford
Opinion of the Court
The state appeals from an order of the circuit court denying a motion for sale of a 1964 Chevrolet automobile allegedly used for transportation of illegal marihuana.
The circuit court found
“* # * that there was no seizure [on November 7] and there is insufficient evidence that any contraband was being transported in the car and no evidence that it was being used to transport contraband on November the tenth, when it was seized. There is insufficient evidence, although there is some evidence, that it was being used to transport contraband on November the seventh * * * »
The state claims error in that (1) the court ruled seizure must have occurred “as soon as the police were aware that it was being used to transport narcotics” and (2) it erred in its holding of insufficient evidence of the narcotics being in the vehicle on November 7.
(1) We do not think a fair construction of the order is that it holds the seizure must have immediately followed awareness. All we read therein in that
(2) The statutes authorizing seizure of vehicles transporting drugs are OES 167.247(2), 471.660 and 471.665. Paraphrasing the part of these statutes concerning the arrest and seizure, it is provided that “[w]hen any * * * officer discovers any person in the act of transporting [narcotics] in violation of law, in * * * aily vehicle * * * he shall seize [the narcotics] * * * take possession of the vehicle * * * and arrest any person in charge thereof.” OES 471.660(1).
The trial court may have construed this language to mean that the officers must literally have seen the contraband in the vehicle in order to take possession of the latter, but we doubt it. Its oral statement was that there was “some” but “insufficient” evidence. We think there was enough evidence upon which to base an inference that the contraband was in the vehicle and this is so under the rule noted in State ex rel Haas v. One 1965 Ford, 19 Or App 879, 529 P2d 410 (1974), Sup Ct review denied (1975), that the evidence in this type of proceeding must be “clear and convincing.” OES 471.660(6). However, the trial judge is the finder of facts in this type of proceeding. While we may have drawn different inferences from the evidence than he did, his finding is based on evidence, and we may not substitute our judgment for his.
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.