Opinion
3:19-cr-00020-TMB-MMS-5
05-05-2023
United States of America v. Srisuda Ali Matthews Graham
PROCEEDINGS: ORDER FROM CHAMBERS
HONORABLE TIMOTHY M. BURGESS, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This matter comes before the Court on Defendant Srisuda Ali Matthews Graham's Motion for Release of Defendant's Passport (the “Motion”).Matthews Graham seeks an Order requiring the United States of America (the “Government”) to release her passport, which she surrendered as a condition of pretrial release. Matthews Graham explains that she needs her passport to apply to renew it.The Government did not file a response.
Dkt. 523 (Motion).
Id. at 1.
Id.
“A district court has jurisdiction to entertain motions to return property seized by the [Government when there are no criminal proceedings pending against the movant. Such motions are treated as civil equitable proceedings . . . .” When the property sought by a defendant is “no longer needed for evidentiary purposes,” including because the defendant has pleaded guilty, “[t]he person from whom the property is seized is presumed to have a right to its return, and the [G]overnment has the burden of demonstrating that it has a legitimate reason to retain the property.”
United States v. Martinson, 809 F.2d 1364, 1367 (9th Cir. 1987).
Id.
Id. at 1369 (citations omitted).
On January 5, 2023, Matthews Graham pleaded guilty to Money Laundering Conspiracy. On April 13, 2023, the Court sentenced Matthews Graham to five years of probation. Therefore, Matthews Graham is presumed to have a right to the return of her passport. Furthermore, the Government has not met its burden to demonstrate a legitimate reason to retain the passport because it has not filed a response to the Motion.
Dkt. 488 (Minute Entry); see also 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h).
Dkt. 46 (Minute Entry); Dkt. 48 (Judgment).
See L. Civ. R. 7.1(h) (The failure to respond to a non-dispositive motion as required by this rule subjects the motion to summary ruling by the court and may be deemed an admission that the motion is well taken.”); L. Crim. R. 1.1(b) (“The District of Alaska Local Civil Rules . . . also apply to criminal proceedings, to the extent not inconsistent with the[] [Local Criminal] [R]ules.”).
Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the Motion at Docket 523 and ORDERS the Government to return Matthews Graham's passport to her on or before May 19, 2023.