NCJ Number
190445
Date Published
June 1998
Length
451 pages
Annotation
This manual contains a comprehensive discussion of all the major aspects of Federal forfeiture law and practice, with an emphasis on the Government's perspective.
Abstract
The manual intends to encourage the enthusiastic use of administrative, civil, and criminal forfeiture as a law enforcement tool. The first chapter addresses the law's specification of civilly forfeitable property. This includes contraband per se; controlled substances; raw materials, products, and equipment; containers; conveyances; books, records, and research; exchange money, traceable proceeds, and facilitating money; and facilitating real property. Chapter 2 presents guidelines for the seizure of property for civil forfeiture. After an overview of common seizure issues (constitutional requirements, illegality of seizure, and delay of seizure), the chapter discusses pre-seizure planning, methods of seizure, and the payment of property taxes on seized property. The third chapter address nonjudicial forfeiture proceedings, with attention to summary forfeiture, administrative forfeiture, and judicial review of administrative forfeitures. Chapter 4 profiles civil judicial forfeiture proceedings, and the remaining chapters address criminally forfeitable property; criminal forfeiture proceedings; settlement, dismissal, or discontinuance of Federal forfeiture proceedings; appellate review of forfeiture proceedings; petitions for remission or mitigation of civil or criminal forfeiture; the disposition of forfeited property; policies and practices of international forfeiture; and challenges to forfeiture enforcement under the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment.