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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 6-381 / 05-1511 Filed August 9, 2006

IN THE MATTER OF PROPERTY SEIZED FOR FORFEITURE FROM WILLIAM THOMAS WIDMANN, MARK GUSTAV WIDMANN and GAIL ANN WIDMANN GAIL ANN WIDMANN, Respondent-Appellant. ________________________________________________________________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Jon C. Fister, Judge.

A respondent appeals from the district court's order forfeiting property. AFFIRMED.

Carter Stevens of Roberts & Stevens, P.L.C., Waterloo, for appellant. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kristin Guddall, Assistant Attorney General, Thomas J. Ferguson, County Attorney, and Brad Walz, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Zimmer and Vaitheswaran, JJ.

2 VOGEL, P.J. Gail Widmann appeals the district court's order finding a 1999 Cadillac Seville STS sedan, jointly-owned by her and her husband, William, was used to facilitate marijuana trafficking, thereby subjecting the vehicle to forfeiture to the State pursuant to Iowa Code section 809A.4(2)(a)(2) (2005). Because we

conclude forfeiture under the statutory standards is supported by substantial evidence, we affirm. Our review of forfeiture proceedings is for correction of errors at law. In re Property Seized From Williams, 676 N.W.2d 607, 612 (Iowa 2004). The

evidence is examined in the light most favorable to the district court judgment, and the findings are construed liberally to support the district court's decision. In re Property Seized From Williams, 646 N.W.2d 861, 863 (Iowa Ct. App. 2002). "An order of forfeiture will not be reversed unless the evidence is utterly wanting to support the conclusion of the trial court." Chiodo, 555 N.W.2d 412, 414 (Iowa 1996). Widmann asserts that the State failed to prove the Cadillac was used to facilitate marijuana trafficking. To uphold a forfeiture, the State must prove by a preponderance of the evidence a substantial connection between the property seized and a criminal offense. Iowa Code

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