Louis Hofferman, Respondent v. Maurice Simmons, as Property Clerk of the Police Department of the City of New York…

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals reversed the judgments in all four replevin actions, granting a new trial in Hofferman and denying the motions for summary judgment in the Rader, Rivera, and Smith actions. The Court held that professional gamblers have no lawful title or possessory right to money seized by police, and that the Penal Law and the New York City Administrative Code do not confer such a right. The Court reasoned that a person who obtains property through illegal gambling cannot recover it in replevin. Justice Rippey dissented in the Hofferman case, arguing the money was not proceeds of crime and should be returned, and concurred in the result of the other three actions.