USA v. Timothy N. Homrighausen

FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
FEBRUARY 17, 2010
JOHN LEY
CLERK
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 09-13551
Non-Argument Calendar
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D. C. Docket No. 06-10004-CR-KMM
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
TIMOTHY N. HOMRIGHAUSEN,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
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(February 17, 2010)
Before BARKETT, HULL and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Timothy N. Homrighausen appeals the district court’s order that (1) denied
his motion for return of property ($3,040 in cash) filed pursuant to Federal Rule of

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Criminal Procedure 41(g), and (2) simultaneously directed that the funds
Homrighausen sought to have returned be deposited with the U.S. Treasury,
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(f), as payment for Homrighausen’s legal
representation. After review, we affirm the district court’s denial of
Homrighausen’s Rule 41(g) motion, but dismiss Homrighausen’s appeal to the
extent he seeks review of the district court’s § 3006A(f) payment order.
I. BACKGROUND
This is Homrighausen’s second appeal regarding his motion for return of
property. In 2006, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Homrighausen
in connection with a bank robbery and seized $3,040 found in his pocket. A
federal grand jury indicted Homrighausen for bank robbery, but the indictment did
not include a forfeiture count. Because at an initial appearance hearing
Homrighausen indicated that he did not have funds to hire a lawyer, a magistrate
judge appointed an assistant public defender to represent Homrighausen pursuant
to the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(b). After trial, the jury found
Homrighausen not guilty.
On the same day that the district court entered a judgment of acquittal,
Homrighausen filed a Rule 41(g) motion for the return of the $3,040 seized at the
time of his arrest. The government did not respond to this motion. Without notice
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or a hearing, the district court entered an order denying Homrighausen’s Rule
41(g) motion and directing that the $3,040 be paid to the Treasury to defray the
costs of hiring the public defender to represent Homrighausen.
On appeal, this Court vacated the district court’s order and remanded with
instructions that “if the district court wants to remit the funds to the Treasury as
reimbursement, it must comply with 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(f) and the procedures
outlined in Bursey. Failing that, the district court must return the funds to
Homrighausen.” United States v. Homrighausen, No. 08-11962, slip op. at 61
(11th Cir. Nov. 20, 2008).
Section 3006A(f) permits a district court to direct that funds be deposited in
the Treasury as a reimbursement when the court “finds that funds are available for
payment from or on behalf of a person furnished representation.” 18 U.S.C.
§ 3006A(f). Our decision in Bursey prohibits the district court from summarily
disbursing funds to the Treasury under § 3006A(f) and requires the district court to
first “make an ‘appropriate inquiry’ as to the availability of the funds for payment
as required under subsection (f).” 515 F.2d at 1236, 1238 (quoting § 3006A(b)).
On remand, the district court held an initial hearing and ordered the
United States v. Bursey, 515 F.2d 1228 (5th Cir. 1975). In Bonner v. City of Prichard,1
661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir. 1981) (en banc), we adopted as binding precedent all decisions of
the former Fifth Circuit decided before October 1, 1981.
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government to respond to Homrighausen’s Rule 41(g) motion. After the
government complied and Homrighausen filed a reply, the district court notified
Homrighausen of its intent to deposit the $3,040 in seized funds with the Treasury
pursuant to § 3006A(f) and advised him to file any objections. Homrighausen filed
his objections, arguing that he had been unemployed for the past three years,
currently had no significant assets and was in virtually the same financial condition
as when he was originally found eligible for court-appointed counsel.
The district court held a second hearing and heard testimony from
Homrighausen about his financial resources. Homrighausen testified that he had
less than $100 in cash, had no savings account or investments, currently earned
approximately $200 per week, paid $115 per week in rent, and owned two bicycles
and some modest jewelry. Homrighausen was not married and did not have any
dependents.
After the hearing, the district court entered an order finding that because the
$3,040 in cash belonged to Homrighausen and he was entitled to its return absent a
legitimate reason to withhold it, Homrighausen had “funds available for payment”
for his court-appointed representation, as required by § 3006A(f) and Bursey. The
district court thus denied Homrighausen’s Rule 41(g) motion for the return of this
cash and directed that the $3,040 be deposited with the Treasury for partial
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reimbursement of his legal representation, pursuant to § 3006A(f). Homrighausen2
filed this second appeal.
II. DISCUSSION
At the outset, we must address whether we have jurisdiction to review the
district court’s order. Citing United States v. Griggs, 240 F.3d 974 (11th Cir.
2001), the government argues that we lack jurisdiction to review the district court’s
§ 3006A(f) ruling. We agree. Under Griggs, an order for the payment of funds
under § 3006A(f) is not a final appealable order within the meaning of 28 U.S.C.
§ 1291 because, inter alia, it is administrative in nature and left to the discretion of
the trial court. 240 F.3d at 974. Thus, we do not address the merits of the district
court’s § 3006A(f) ruling.3
We do have jurisdiction to review the district court’s ruling on
Homrighausen’s Rule 41(g) motion. See United States v. Machado, 465 F.3d
At the hearing, Homrighausen’s public defender advised the district court that he spent2
approximately fifty hours on Homrighausen’s trial. The district court estimated, based on the
current pay rate of $110 an hour for attorney’s appointed under the Criminal Justice Act, that
Homrighausen’s defense cost approximately $5,500. Thus, the $3,040 was only a partial
reimbursement for Homrighausen’s representation.
Under Griggs, we lack jurisdiction to review the merits of a district court’s § 3006A(f)3
ruling (i.e., the finding that funds are available for payment and the discretionary decision
whether to direct that funds be paid to the Treasury as reimbursement for court-appointed
counsel). Under Bursey, however, we can review whether the district court has complied with
the procedural requirements before entering the § 3006A(f) ruling. In this second appeal,
Homrighausen does not contend that the district court failed to comply with the procedures in
§ 3006A(f) and Bursey before directing payment to the Treasury.
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1301, 1307 (11th Cir. 2006), overruled on other grounds by United States v.
Lopez, 562 F.3d 1309, 1311-13 (11th Cir. 2009). Rule 41(g) provides that “a
person aggrieved . . . by the deprivation of property may move for the property’s
return.” Fed. R. Crim P. 41(g). When the Rule 41(g) motion is filed after criminal
proceedings have terminated, “the person from whom the property was seized is
presumed to have a right to its return and the government must demonstrate that it
has a legitimate reason to retain the property.” United States v. Potes Ramirez, 260
F.3d 1310, 1314 (11th Cir. 2001).
A Rule 41(g) motion filed after the termination of the criminal proceedings
is a motion in equity, for which the district court “will determine all the equitable
considerations in order to make a fair and just decision.” United States v. Howell,
425 F.3d 971, 974 (11th Cir. 2005). We review questions of law relating to a Rule
41(g) motion de novo, but review “the equitable equation of the district court’s
decision to deny a Rule 41(g) motion only for abuse of discretion.” Machado, 465
F.3d at 1307.
Here, the district court denied Homrighausen’s Rule 41(g) motion because,
after following the procedures set forth in § 3006A(f) and Bursey, the district court
determined that the seized funds were “available for payment” to the Treasury for
of Homrighausen’s court-appointed representation. And, Homrighausen does not
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dispute that he had court-appointed representation or that the representation
through trial was more than the $3,040. Under the circumstances, we cannot say
the district court abused its discretion in denying the Rule 41(g) motion.
AFFIRMED IN PART, DISMISSED IN PART.
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