Tipton v. State of Ga.

The record did not show whether the trial court performed the required detailed analysis to determine whether the forfeiture of the defendant's vehicle to the State constituted an excessive fine after the vehicle was used to facilitate a $30 drug purchase.

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In this civil in rem forfeiture action, Anna D. Tipton appeals the trial court’s order of disposition finding that her vehicle was subject to forfeiture to the State because it had been used to facilitate the purchase of $30 worth of cocaine. Tipton contends that the trial court erred in denying her motion to dismiss the State’s complaint for forfeiture. She further contends that the trial court erred in finding that the forfeiture was not an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment and in failing to perform the proper constitutional analysis on the record. As discussed below, Tipton failed to invoke a ruling on her motion to dismiss, precluding appellate review of that enumeration of error. However, the record does not reveal whether the trial court performed the detailed analysis required by Howell v. State of Georgia, 283 Ga. 24, 26 1 656 SE2d 511 2008 in determining whether the forfeiture constituted an excessive fine. We therefore vacate the trial court’s order of disposition and remand the case with direction that the court conduct the proper constitutional analysis and make appropriate findings of fact and conclusions of law on the record.

The parties stipulated to the following facts at the forfeiture hearing. Tipton owned a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo that was worth between $1,600 and $2,500. There were no existing liens on the Jeep at the time in question. The Jeep was “really the only thing in the world that Tipton owned, other than her clothes.”

Tipton v. State of Ga.

The record did not show whether the trial court performed the required detailed analysis to determine whether the forfeiture of the defendant's vehicle to the State constituted an excessive fine after the vehicle was used to facilitate a $30 drug purchase.

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