United States v. Funds in the Amount of One Hundred Thousand One Hundred & Twenty Dollars
730 F.3d 711
| 7th Cir. | 2013Background
- DEA agents at Chicago’s Union Station seized a locked briefcase after a K-9 (Deny) alerted; the briefcase contained $100,120. Claimant Marrocco (owner) sought return in a civil forfeiture action.
- Agents had initially opened the briefcase with a pocketknife before the dog sniff; prior appeals resolved suppression issues by applying inevitable discovery and other doctrines (United States v. Marrocco).
- The government moved for summary judgment, arguing (1) Fallon matched a drug-courier profile, (2) Marrocco’s reported income could not account for the Funds, and (3) Deny’s alert was reliable evidence linking the Funds to drug activity.
- Marrocco responded with (a) an affidavit asserting the Funds were life savings from prior lawful employment, and (b) expert affidavits challenging the scientific basis for treating dog alerts to currency as probative (currency-contamination critiques) and attacking Deny’s training and the sniff procedure.
- The district court granted the government’s third summary-judgment motion; the Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded, holding that Marrocco’s affidavit and expert evidence created genuine disputes of material fact on both the legitimate-source and dog-reliability issues and that training/sniff challenges may be considered.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Marrocco had a legitimate source for the Funds | Marrocco: affidavit that Funds were accumulated as life savings from lawful jobs and expense-free living; could legally have accumulated amount | Government: tax returns/W-2s show expenses exceeded income for relevant years, so legitimate sources insufficient | Court: Credible, noncontradictory affidavit creates genuine factual dispute; summary judgment improper |
| Whether a dog’s alert to currency reliably shows recent contact with illegal drugs (currency-contamination theory) | Marrocco: expert evidence (Angelos) disputes Furton’s research; currency can retain cocaine/methyl benzoate and studies conflict—alerts not necessarily probative | Government: Furton studies support that dogs detect short-lived methyl benzoate and alerts to currency are probative | Court: Marrocco’s expert evidence, if admissible, raises a material factual dispute requiring further proceedings |
| Whether Deny’s training/performance supports treating alert as reliable | Marrocco: experts say Deny wasn’t properly proofed off clean currency, training lacked double-blind methods, not certified externally, limited continuing training | Government: Deny’s training logs, certifications, and field performance show reliability; field performance is persuasive | Court: Evidence of inadequate training can create a factual dispute about reliability; claimant may challenge training and testing (post-Harris) |
| Whether the sniff/search was conducted soundly (cueing/cross-contamination) | Marrocco: handler cueing or station contamination could explain alert; studies show handler beliefs can influence outcomes | Government: no evidence of actual contamination at location; handlers hid briefcase and did not cue | Court: Cross-contamination speculative; cueing remains a disputed fact that can be explored on remand |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Marrocco, 578 F.3d 627 (7th Cir. 2009) (prior appeal addressing suppression and inevitable discovery)
- United States v. Funds in Amount of Thirty Thousand Six Hundred Seventy Dollars, 403 F.3d 448 (7th Cir. 2005) (discussing probative value of dog alerts to currency)
- United States v. $506,231 in U.S. Currency, 125 F.3d 442 (7th Cir. 1997) (earlier treatment of currency-contamination concerns)
- United States v. Limares, 269 F.3d 794 (7th Cir. 2001) (noting field performance can support a dog’s reliability in warrant affidavits)
- Florida v. Harris, 133 S. Ct. 1050 (2013) (Supreme Court: courts should allow adversarial challenges to a dog’s reliability and consider training/certification evidence)