United States v. Pinson
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
Federal inmate Monte Pinson appeals from the grant of his post-judgment motion for return of property. We affirm.
In 2001 Pinson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine base, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and was sentenced to 292 months’ imprisonment, a $1,500 fine, and a $100 special assessment. In May 2003 Pinson moved under Federal Rule of
In general, seized property must be returned after criminal proceedings have terminated. See United States v. Bein, 214 F.3d 408, 411 (3d Cir. 2000). A person seeking return of property seized by federal law enforcement officers may file a motion under Rule 41(g). Fed.R.Crim.P. 41(g); see Okoro v. Callaghan, 324 F.3d 488, 490 (7th Cir. 2003). Post-conviction Rule 41(g) motions are treated as civil equitable proceedings, see United States v. Howell, 354 F.3d 693, 695 (7th Cir. 2004), and reviewed deferentially for abuse of discretion, see United States v. Hardman, 297 F.3d 1116, 1120 (10th Cir. 2002). See also Archer Daniels Midland Co. v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 243 F.3d 369, 373 (7th Cir. 2001) (reviewing equitable proceeding deferentially).
On appeal Pinson disputes the procedure the district court employed in crediting $837 toward his fines. Pinson argues that because the payment plan instituted at sentencing required him to make monthly payments totaling the greatest of either $50 or 10% of his gross income, the district court should have credited monthly payments of $83.70 (10% of the total) each month so that no payments were due until the entire amount had been credited. In the alternative, Pinson reasons, the district court should have made one monthly payment with the money and returned the balance to him. But in his Rule 41(g) motion, Pinson requested only “that the balance of all fines and assessment fees be deducted from the amount seized in the case.” We cannot say that the district court abused its discretion in granting precisely the relief Pinson requested.
Pinson also challenges the government’s assertion that the $4,471 was forfeited, arguing that he received no notice of forfeiture and, thus, any forfeiture would have violated his right to due process. But Pinson did not raise this argument in the district court, so we cannot review it on appeal. See Schoenfeld v. Apfel, 237 F.3d 788, 793 (7th Cir. 2001). Further, Pinson stated in his Rule 41(g) motion that he was seeking return only of property that had not been forfeited, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in reading that statement as evidence that Pinson was aware that some of his money had been forfeited but that he was not challenging the forfeiture in his motion. Since the district court had no reason to consider the sufficiency of the notice Pin-son received regarding any such forfeiture, it had no jurisdiction to consider the forfeiture. United States v. McGlory, 202 F.3d 664, 670 (3d Cir. 2000) (en banc) (once an agency initiates administrative forfeiture proceedings, the district court no longer has subject matter jurisdiction over the
AFFIRMED.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Monte L. PINSON
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published