Summary
The Supreme Court of Mississippi considered whether $7,600 seized from James Evans's home was subject to civil forfeiture under Mississippi Code section 41-29-179(2). The court held that dog alerts to currency may have probative value but found the sniff test unreliable because of possible contamination. It affirmed the Court of Appeals' determination that the City failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the money was connected to illegal narcotics trafficking, reversed the circuit court, and rendered judgment for Evans.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether, under Mississippi Code section 41-29-179(2), the City proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the $7,600 found in Evans's home was subject to forfeiture.
- Whether a dog alert to currency is entitled to probative weight despite the currency-contamination theory.
- Whether Evans preserved any challenge to the City's failure to qualify Officer Perkins as an expert witness.
Holdings
- A properly conducted and properly trained narcotics-dog alert to currency is entitled to probative weight; the currency-contamination theory does not categorically preclude such evidence unless accompanied by other persuasive evidence.
- The dog-sniff evidence in this case was improperly obtained or contaminated because the testing conditions did not establish that the dog alerted to the currency itself.
- The City failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the $7,600 was subject to forfeiture.
- Evans waived any error arising from the City's failure to qualify Officer Perkins as an expert because he made no contemporaneous objection at trial.
Key quotations
“Therefore, based on the Seventh Circuit's in depth analysis of the reliability of dog alerts to currency, we adopt the Seventh Circuit's sound reasoning and finding that dog alerts to currency are entitled to probative weight.” (185)
“Considering the circumstances as a whole, this Court finds the City did not meet its burden proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the $7,600 is subject to forfeiture.” (187)
Factual background
Police found $7,600 wrapped in hair bands beneath a console television in Evans's bedroom. They also found a brass container containing a brillo pad, ashes, and residue; perforated tin foil; a cigarette pack with residue; and plastic bags. No drugs were found in the home, and the residue and other items were not submitted for laboratory testing. The City's dog-sniff test was conducted using a possibly contaminated paper bag and in a possibly contaminated area, leaving uncertainty whether the dog alerted to the money, the bag, or the surrounding area.
Procedural history
The Monroe County Circuit Court held that the City proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the $7,600 was furnished in exchange for, or used or intended to be used in violation of, the Uniform Controlled Substances Law. The Court of Appeals reversed and rendered judgment against the City, concluding that the evidentiary presumption did not apply and that the City had not established a sufficient connection between the money and drug trafficking. The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals' judgment while rejecting its currency-contamination rationale and reversing and rendering the circuit court's judgment.
Remand instructions
The judgment of the Mississippi Court of Appeals was affirmed, and the judgment of the Monroe County Circuit Court was reversed and rendered. The opinion does not direct further proceedings on remand.