United States v. One Million, Thirty-Two Thousand, Nine Hundred Eighty Dollars in U.S. Currency ($1,032,980.00), 855 F. Supp. 2d 678

Government filed a Verified Complaint in Forfeiture under 21 U.S.C. § 881 seeking forfeiture of $1,032,980.00 as proceeds from illegal drug trafficking.
Warrant of Arrest In Rem issued February 19, 2010; claimants were notified to file claims within 35 days; Anthony Vigna filed a verified claim opposing forfeiture.
Troopers observed a 2003 Silverado with Nevada plates and followed it, eventually stopping it for lane deviations on the Ohio Turnpike.
K9 Hans conducted a free and then directed sniff, giving a positive alert around 11:02 a.m.; alert prompted further investigation.
Hidden compartment discovered at X-press garage; 18 currency packages recovered; currency counted and subjected to canine and forensic testing; claimant detained at the Toledo Post for several hours; Miranda warnings given at the garage; Vigna released without charges.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Fourth Amendment exclusion applies in civil forfeiture	Forfeiture action uses tainted evidence if unlawful	Evidence should be excludeable if obtained unlawfully	Fourth Amendment applies to forfeiture actions
Whether the traffic stop had probable cause	Stop based on hunches/suspicions	Stop supported by observed lane deviations	Probable cause existed; stop not pretextual
Whether initiating a dog sniff at the stop was lawful and non-deterrent	Dog sniff improperly extended the stop	Sniff allowed during lawful stop and did not unduly extend detention	Dog sniff permissible; duration reasonable and not an unlawful extension
Whether dog Hans's alert supplied probable cause to search	Reliability proven by Diaz framework	Reliability contested due to training/records concerns	Hans reliable under Diaz; alert supported probable cause for search
Whether detention transformed into arrest and Miranda issues			Detention became arrest between Hans’s alert and Miranda at garage; post-Miranda statements suppressed

Diaz v. United States, 25 F.3d 392 (6th Cir. 1994) (detector dog reliability can establish probable cause when credible testimony shows training/certification)
United States v. Torres-Ramos, 536 F.3d 542 (6th Cir. 2008) (reliability of a narcotics dog supported by handler testimony; certification sufficient to establish reliability)
United States v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405 (2005) (dog sniff during lawful stop does not violate Fourth Amendment; cannot extend stop unreasonably)
Berke mer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420 (1984) (custody for purposes of Miranda depends on degree of restraint; not all detentions trigger Miranda rights)
United States v. Freeman, 209 F.3d 464 (6th Cir. 2000) (lane-change stops can be pretextual; distinguishable facts apply)