ARS 13-4305(B) Interpretation

In In re United States Currency in the Amount of $ 315,900.00, 183 Ariz. 208, 211, 902 P.2d 351, 354 (App. 1995), officers pulled a man over for driving erratically and discovered bundles of currency in a shoebox behind the rear seat of his car. They also found a bag containing four ounces of marijuana in the space between the front seats. 183 Ariz. at 210, 902 P.2d at 353. The State alleged the money was used or intended to be used in a racketeering offense involving drugs, and relied on A.R.S. 13-4305(B), now renumbered as 13-4305(F) (2001), for its statutorily created inference that money found in proximity to contraband is contraband proceeds. Id. at 211, 902 P.2d at 354. The court rejected the State's argument and ruled the statutory inference unconstitutional as applied to the facts of that case. Id. at 213-14, 902 P.2d at 356-57. That a person both uses or is around drugs and has a large amount of cash with him, the court concluded, "without more, does not support a probable cause determination for forfeiture of the currency." Id. at 214, 902 P.2d at 357.