Filed: Jan. 22, 1996
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT _ No. 95-30612 Summary Calendar _ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus AMPARO FERNANDEZ, Defendant-Appellant. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (92-CR-161-H) _ January 10, 1996 Before JOLLY, JONES, and STEWART, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Amparo Fernandez appeals from the district court's order dismissing her petition for a writ of error coram nobis. In the petition, Fe
Summary: IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT _ No. 95-30612 Summary Calendar _ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus AMPARO FERNANDEZ, Defendant-Appellant. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (92-CR-161-H) _ January 10, 1996 Before JOLLY, JONES, and STEWART, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Amparo Fernandez appeals from the district court's order dismissing her petition for a writ of error coram nobis. In the petition, Fer..
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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
_____________________
No. 95-30612
Summary Calendar
_____________________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
AMPARO FERNANDEZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Louisiana
(92-CR-161-H)
_________________________________________________________________
January 10, 1996
Before JOLLY, JONES, and STEWART, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Amparo Fernandez appeals from the district court's order
dismissing her petition for a writ of error coram nobis. In the
petition, Fernandez argued that her conviction for conspiracy with
intent to distribute cocaine violated double jeopardy because she
previously had been subjected to a civil forfeiture pursuant to 21
U.S.C. § 881(a)(6) of $2,000 cash that was taken from her at the
time of her arrest. Construing Fernandez's petition as a motion
under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, we reach the merits of her argument.
*
Pursuant to Local Rule 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in Local Rule 47.5.4.
In United States v. Tilley,
18 F.3d 295, 298 (5th Cir. 1994),
cert. denied sub. nom.,
115 S. Ct. 573 and cert. denied,
115 S. Ct.
574, this court applied the framework established by the Supreme
Court in United States v. Halper,
490 U.S. 435 (1989), to determine
whether the civil forfeiture of drug proceeds pursuant to 21 U.S.C.
§ 881(a)(6) was "punishment" for purposes of double jeopardy. This
court concluded that the amount forfeited, $650,000, was not so
great that it bore no rational relation to the costs incurred by
the government and society from the defendant's conduct.
Id. at
298-300.
Tilley directly controls and forecloses Fernandez's argument.
Fernandez averred in her petition that the $2,000 seized from her
on the date of her arrest was seized pursuant to § 881(a)(6). The
factual resume supporting her guilty plea provided that Fernandez
and others conspired over a one-year period to distribute
approximately 2,100 kilograms of cocaine. The $2,000 forfeited
clearly was not so great that it bore no rational relation to the
costs incurred by the government and society from Fernandez's
conduct. Fernandez's civil forfeiture thus was not "punishment"
and consequently jeopardy did not attach.
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We AFFIRM the district court's dismissal on the foregoing
alternative ground.1
A F F I R M E D.
1
See Sojourner T. v. Edwards,
974 F.2d 27, 30 (5th Cir. 1992)
(court may affirm judgment on any basis supported by the record),
cert. denied,
113 S. Ct. 1414 (1993).
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