University of Tennessee, Knoxville
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Tennessee Department of State, Opinions from the
Administrative Procedures Division
Law
8-18-2011
TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY vs.
Twelve Thousand Seven Hundred Forty
$12,740.00 in U.S. Currency, Seized from:
Christopher Todd Christian, Date of Seizure: July 3,
2010, Claimant: Christopher Todd Christian
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Part of the Administrative Law Commons
This Initial Order by the Administrative Judges of the Administrative Procedures Division, Tennessee Department of State, is a public document made
available by the College of Law Library, and the Tennessee Department of State, Administrative Procedures Division. For more information about this
public document, please contact [email protected]
BEFORE THE COMMISSIONER OF THE
TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY
IN THE MATTER OF:
)
)
TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT
)
OF SAFETY
)
)
v.
) DOCKET NO. 19.01-113636J
) [D.O.S. Case No. K6675]
)
Twelve Thousand Seven Hundred Forty )
($12,740.00) in U.S. Currency
)
Seized from: Christopher Todd Christian )
Date of Seizure: July 3, 2010
)
Claimant: Christopher Todd Christian )
)
INITIAL ORDER
The contested hearing in this matter came forward on August 18, 2011, in
Nashville, Tennessee, before Mattielyn B. Williams, Administrative Judge,
assigned by the Secretary of State, Administrative Procedures Division, sitting for
the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety. Ms. Jennifer
Cavanaugh, Metropolitan Attorney, represented the Metropolitan Government of
Nashville and Davidson County. Mr. Orvil Orr, Staff Attorney, Tennessee
Department of Safety, was present. The Claimant, Mr. Christopher Todd
Christian, was represented by Attorney Rob McKinney.
The subject of this matter was the proposed forfeiture of the subject Twelve
Thousand Seven Hundred Forty ($12,740.00) in U.S. Currency, which was seized
as proceeds, as facilitating, as obtained in an exchange, as intended for use, or
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otherwise involved in an exchange, in violation of the Tennessee Drug Control
Act, thus making the currency subject to seizure, pursuant to T.C.A. §53-11-451.
After consideration of the record, it is DETERMINED that Three
Thousand ($3,000.00) Dollars of the Twelve Thousand Seven Hundred Forty
Dollars ($12,740.00) should be FORFEITED to the seizing agency. The
remainder should be RETURNED to the Claimant.
This conclusion is based on the following findings of fact and conclusions
of law:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1.
Officer Wesley Terry, of the Metropolitan
Police Department of Nashville and Davidson County,
testified he was investigating a report of “young kids”
breaking into houses. As part of the investigation, the
Officers went to the home of Claimant Christopher Todd
Christian and Ms. Julie Lane. The Officers had a photo of
Ms. Lane’s son as part of their investigation.
2.
At the Christian-Lane residence, the Officers
found marijuana stems, shake, a silver pistol in a Titans
toboggan, a glass marijuana pipe, rolling papers, a silver
marijuana grinder, black digital scales, a wad of cash – two to
three thousand ($2,000 - $3,000) dollars, in small
denominations, that was with the illegal drugs, a box of rolled
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marijuana cigarettes in Ms. Lane’s purse, a 38 Special gun
under the mattress and ninety (90) hydrocodone tablets in two
(2) unlabeled bottles. The amount of pills is a felony amount,
per Officer Terry. The wad of money was seized.
3.
Additional money was found in a safe.
4.
Claimant Christian indicated that the marijuana
belonged to him, but denied that the pills belonged to him.
5.
Claimant was earlier convicted of reckless
endangerment, a felony, which means that Claimant should
not be in possession of firearms. Claimant also had two (2)
prior convictions for simple possession of illegal drugs, which
would make a third incident a felony, in Davidson County,
per Officer Terry.
6.
Officer Terry admitted that the Claimant was
not being investigated for drugs at the time of the search of
his home. The Officers were looking for stolen property.
7.
Ms. Kathleen Christian, the Claimant’s Mother,
testified that she owns a used tire store at 2400 Dickerson
Road and that the Claimant works picking up used tires and
serves as Manager, there. Ms. Christian indicated that the
business accepts cash only and that the business uses cash to
purchase both new and used tires for sale. Ms. Christian
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continued that the Claimant made $12,000 in 2010 and that
the $12,000 in the safe is Tire Store money.
8.
Claimant testified that he lives in a house that is
owned by his Mother. Claimant’s Mother pays the utilities on
the home as part of his compensation package as Manager.
9.
Claimant testified that the safe contained Tire
Store money, plus his brother’s knives, a Michael Jordan
basketball card, bank records, immunization records, a signed
NY Yankees baseball, and other memorabilia.
10.
The ledgers from the Tire Store were submitted
as a late-filed Exhibit.
BEST EVIDENCE ISSUE
Claimant objected to admission of the Toxicology Report as an Exhibit as
not the Best Evidence. Claimant asserted that the test results on the Report are
really a computerized interpretation of chromatographs and gas spectrometry
reports. Claimant contended that those underlying reports should be admitted, not
a computer’s interpretation of those tests/reports.
Claimant intended to submit a brief on this issue, but did not do so.
The State’s brief relied on Rule 1340-2-2-.18(4) which permits introduction
of the Toxicology Report, but also permits Claimants to question the Report by
questioning the Toxicologist, pursuant to a request to do so, filed ten (10) days in
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advance of the hearing. The State also argued that the Toxicologist’s Report is the
type of document relied upon by reasonably prudent people and therefore
admissible under T.C. A. 4-5-313.
Ruling: Claimant waived his right to question the “standard” report by
failure to request that the Toxicologist be present to explain the differences, if any,
between the “raw” reports and the computer-generated reports.
In addition, the official TBI Crime Lab Report is a document of the type
relied upon by reasonable prudent people in the conduct of their affairs.
Thus, the Toxicologist’s Report is admitted, showing 7.1 grams of
marijuana and 90 Dihydrocodeinone tablets.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1.
The State must carry its burden of proof, by a preponderance of the
evidence, that the subject U.S. Currency was used to facilitate, constitutes
proceeds, or was obtained in an exchange, in a manner that violated the Tennessee
Drug Control Act. Such violation subjects property to forfeiture pursuant to the
provisions of T.C.A. §53-11-451.
2.
Claimant offered no explanation for the wad of cash that was
physically next to the marijuana, which marijuana Claimant admits belongs to
him.
3.
There was no clear evidence of Claimant co-mingling the tire store
money and his personal funds with the wad of money.
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4.
It is CONCLUDED more likely than not, by a preponderance of the
evidence, based on the circumstantial evidence of the guns, marijuana, pipes,
scales, grinder, etc., that the wad of money was obtained as proceeds and/or was
intended to be used to facilitate an illegal drug transaction.
5.
Based on the ledgers from the Tire Store, Ms. Christian’s testimony,
Claimant Christian’s testimony, and the fact that the Claimant indicated his
employment to Officer Terry immediately, rather than employment only being
mentioned as an after-thought at the hearing, it is CONCLUDED that the money
in the safe was non-co-mingled legitimate money.
6.
Ms. Christian’s testimony that there was $12,000 in the safe is
inconsistent with the total amount of money (wad money plus safe money) seized
being Twelve Thousand Seven Hundred Forty Dollars ($12,740.00). Therefore,
that portion of Ms. Christian’s testimony is given little weight.
7.
It is CONCLUDED that Three Thousand ($3,000.00) Dollars of the
seized funds, i.e. the waded money, should be and is hereby FORFEITED to the
seizing agency, for disposition as provided by law.
6.
It is CONCLUDED that the Nine Thousand Seven Hundred and
Forty Dollars ($9,740.00) is Tire Money and should be RETURNED to the
Claimant/Tire Store Manager.
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This Initial Order entered and effective this 19th day of December, 2011.
_________________________________
MATTIELYN B. WILLIAMS
Administrative Judge
Filed in the Administrative Procedures Division, Office of the Secretary of
State, this 19th day of December, 2011.
Thomas G. Stovall, Director
Administrative Procedures Division
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