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THOMPSON v. STATE11/21/1997
Maurice B. Thompson appeals from the forfeiture of $8,694. The State of Alabama claimed that the money was due to be forfeited because, it said, it had been used, or was to be used, to facilitate a drug transaction. After an ore tenus hearing, the trial court found that the money had been used, or had been intended for use, in a drug transaction, and it ordered the money forfeited to the general fund of the Alabama Bureau of Investigation's narcotic unit. However, the judgment noted that the forfeiture was being ordered pursuant to § 13A-12-30, Ala. Code 1975, which is a gambling statute.
The facts adduced at trial tended to show the following: State Trooper Wilson Hale pulled Thompson over for speeding. Hale said he had Thompson get out of his car and join him in the patrol car. Hale said that Thompson smelled of marijuana when he got in the patrol car. Hale asked Thompson if he had been smoking marijuana, and Thompson responded that he had smoked it earlier in the day. Hale arrested Thompson for driving under the influence of marijuana and alcohol and gave him a speeding ticket.
Because Thompson was arrested for DUI, he was taken into custody and Hale did an inventory search of his car. During the search, Hale found three or four $100 bills on the car's front seat, a shopping bag containing cash, and cash in the glove compartment. The total amount of cash found in the car was $8,694. Hale also found a .54 Glock 9-millimeter pistol, two pagers, a cellular telephone, and a half-pint of gin, among other things. Hale searched Thompson and found in his front pocket a plastic bag containing 4.73 grams of marijuana.
Two law enforcement officials testified that after being read his Miranda rights, Thompson said he had gotten the money from gambling in Biloxi, Mississippi, and from a "shot house" in Pratt City. He later said he won money in Texas, where, he said, he had visited a cousin who plays professional football. When asked whether there were casinos in Texas, Thompson said he had meant to say Louisiana. Thompson was never asked, and he never specified, how much money he had won at any location.
Thompson contends that the trial court erred in ordering the forfeiture of the money
based on its finding that the money had been used, or had been intended for use, in a transaction that would violate the Controlled Substances Act because, he says, there is no evidence to support such a finding.
The state must establish a prima facie case for the forfeiture of property under § 20-2-93, Ala. Code 1975. State ex rel. Valeska v. Keener, 606 So.2d 150 (Ala.Civ.App. 1992). That statute is penal in nature and must be strictly construed. Williams v. State, 674 So.2d 591 (Ala.Civ.App. 1995). To make out its prima facie case,
" he state ha to prove that the money seized was: (1) furnished or intended to be furnished by [Thompson] in exchange for a controlled substance; (2) traceable to such a transaction; or (3) used or intended to be used to facilitate a violation of any law of this state concerning controlled substances."
Wherry v. State ex rel. Brooks, 637 So.2d 890, 892 (Ala. Civ. App. 1994); § 20-2-93(a)(4). The state's standard of proof in a condemnation action is reasonable satisfaction. State v. Smith, 578 So.2d 1374 (Ala.Civ.App. 1991). On review of an ore tenus forfeiture proceeding, the trial court's judgment is presumed to be correct unless the record shows it to be contrary to the great weight of the evidence. Id. After reviewing the record, we hold that the judgment is against the great weight of the evidence.
The dissent is correct in saying that circumstantial evidence will support a conviction "as
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