Dist. Ct. erred in granting plaintiff-government’s motion for summary judgment in civil action seeking forfeiture of $271,080 in currency that police discovered in safe in one defendant’s van, after police had obtained search warrant based upon drug dog’s alert to presence of drugs in safe. Search of safe/van did not reveal presence of drugs, and record contained genuine issue of material fact as to whether govt. met its burden to prove that instant money was connected to drug trafficking, where, although both defendants initially indicated during police investigation that they did not own such large sum of money, both defendants presented subsequent affidavits that contained plausible explanations for earning such money legally. Government also failed to present any evidence indicating that defendants were involved in drug trafficking.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Forfeiture