United States v. John Nathaniel Ladson and Eunice Mae Oliver

VANCE, Circuit Judge:

The question presented in this case is whether the government’s lawful seizure of a house in connection with pending civil forfeiture proceedings entitles the government to conduct an inventory search of the house’s contents over the objection of a tenant occupying the home. We conclude that it does not and thus affirm the decision of the district court.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 1

Defendants John Nathaniel Ladson and Eunice Mae Oliver lived in a rented house at 5864 Deerfield Trail in College Park, Georgia. The owner of the house was Rowland Allen. In March of 1984,…