United States v. Soto, No. 18-10070 (9th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's forfeiture order in an action where defendant pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to export ammunition from the United States and one count of conspiracy to export firearms and ammunition. The panel held that the district court did not err in ordering forfeiture because 18 U.S.C. 924(d)(1) authorizes forfeiture of firearms and ammunition involved in a federal crime. The panel also held that the district court did not err in ordering the forfeiture of substitute property. Finally, defendant's challenge to the adequacy of the notice of forfeiture in the indictment was not reviewable, but even if it were, the notice was adequate.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel affirmed the district court’s forfeiture order in a case in which the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to export ammunition from the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 554, and one count of conspiracy to export firearms and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. The panel rejected the defendant’s argument that forfeiture is unavailable in this case because §§ 371 and 554(a) are not expressly mentioned in the federal forfeiture statute. The panel held that the district court did not err in ordering forfeiture because 18 U.S.C. § 924(d)(1) authorizes forfeiture of firearms and ammunition involved in a federal crime. The panel held that, under 21 U.S.C. § 853(p), the district court did not err in ordering the forfeiture of substitute property up to the value of ammunition that the defendant had transferred to a coconspirator. The panel held that because the defendant did not challenge the adequacy of the notice of forfeiture in the indictment before the district court or in her opening brief, the challenge (first raised in her reply brief) is not reviewable. The panel wrote that even if the adequacy of the
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