FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
May 19, 2010
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
TENTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
No. 09-6235
v. (D.C. No. 06-CR-00115-R-1)
(W.D. Okla.)
JESUS ADOLFO TINAJERO-
PORRAS,
Defendant - Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before KELLY, McKAY, and LUCERO, Circuit Judges. **
Defendant-Appellant Jesus Tinajero-Porras, an inmate proceeding pro se,
appeals from the district court’s denial of his motion for the return of seized
property under Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(g). Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §
1291, we affirm because Defendant must proceed under 18 U.S.C. § 983, the
exclusive remedy for the recovery of administratively forfeited property.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited,
however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th
Cir. R. 32.1.
**
After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this three-judge
panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not be of material
assistance in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); 10th
Cir. R. 34.1(G). The cause is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Mr. Tinajero-Porras is currently serving a sentence of 360 months in prison
for his conviction for various federal drug offenses. 1 R. 34-36. When Drug
Enforcement Agency officers arrested Mr. Tinajero-Porras in April 2006, they
found $5,023 in cash in his pocket. Id. at 127. The district court did not include
this cash among the criminal proceeds that Mr. Tinajero-Porras forfeited under 21
U.S.C. § 853. Id. at 99-104. Instead, the DEA administratively forfeited the cash
under 21 U.S.C. § 881 after sending notices to a Norman, Oklahoma residence,
the Oklahoma County jail where Mr. Tinajero-Porras was being held, and an
Oklahoma City attorney, and publishing notices in the Wall Street Journal. Id. at
131-50.
In a short order, the district court denied Mr. Tinajero-Porras’s Rule 41(g)
motion, it appears, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because 18 U.S.C. § 983
is the exclusive remedy and, alternatively, because a properly filed motion would
be futile. 1 R. 151-52. On appeal, Mr. Tinajero-Porras claims that the
Government’s notice was inadequate because he never received it, he never lived
at the Norman address, the attorney no longer represented him when she received
the notice, and he cannot read English, so the Wall Street Journal publication was
ineffective. Aplt. Br. at 2-4. It does not appear that he raised these arguments in
the district court. 1 R. 127-28.
We review de novo a district court’s dismissal for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction. United States v. Rodriguez-Aguierre, 414 F.3d 1177, 1181 (10th Cir.
-2-
2005). A motion filed under 18 U.S.C. § 983 is “the exclusive remedy for
seeking to set aside a declaration of forfeiture under a civil forfeiture statute.” 18
U.S.C. § 983(e)(5). Under prior Rule 41(e), which Rule 41(g) replaced, we “held
that where the property sought to be returned has been administratively forfeited,
the Court should not exercise Rule 41(e) jurisdiction if the movant has failed to
challenge the forfeiture through the appropriate administrative and judicial
procedures.” United States v. Deninno, 103 F.3d 82, 84 (10th Cir. 1996). That
holding applies here. Because 18 U.S.C. § 983 is the exclusive vehicle to
challenge an administrative forfeiture under 21 U.S.C. § 881, we lack jurisdiction
to review the denial of Mr. Tinajero-Porras’s Rule 41(g) motion. See Mesa
Valderrama v. United States, 417 F.3d 1189, 1196 (11th Cir. 2005). Therefore,
we cannot review the arguments he presents on appeal, because they go to the
merits of the forfeiture. See id. Mr. Tinajero-Porras does not raise any collateral
due process attack that would trigger our jurisdiction. Deninno, 103 F.3d at 84.
AFFIRMED.
Entered for the Court
Paul J. Kelly, Jr.
Circuit Judge
-3-