NCJ Number
204604
Date Published
January 2004
Length
359 pages
Annotation
This document offers a collection of most of the Federal cases that have been decided since 1992 concerning civil and criminal forfeiture procedure.
Abstract
This internal law enforcement document offers brief synopses of cases of civil and criminal forfeiture, organized topically. The Deputy Chief of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the United States Department of Justice began compiling these cases in 1992, in anticipation of changes to forfeiture laws. He also began organizing decided forfeiture cases into two outlines in order to keep track of the rapidly developing law on forfeiture. Part 1 of the document lists cases dealing with civil forfeiture, including cases that involve administrative forfeiture; judicial review of administrative forfeiture; adoptive forfeiture; seizure and forfeiture of real property; judicial forfeiture claims and complaints; dispositive pretrial motions; pretrial procedural issues; forfeitability; tracing; standing and ownership; the innocent owner defense; trial procedures; parallel civil forfeiture and criminal prosecution; forfeiture and taxes; forfeiture and bankruptcy; obtaining financial records; substantive forfeiture statutes; and constitutional issues. Part 2 provides synopses of cases dealing with criminal forfeiture, including cases that deal with the scope and purpose of criminal forfeiture; criminal forfeiture procedure; seizure warrants; pretrial restraint of assets; indictment; bifurcated proceedings; burden of proof; guilty pleas; special verdict; money judgment; preliminary order to forfeiture; order to forfeiture; substitute assets; property transferred to third parties; right of third party to object to forfeiture; ancillary hearings; choice of law; standing; and grounds for recovery among others. Part 3 presents synopses of cases that dealt with issues regarding excessive fines. Sections include cases on money laundering; proceeds; facilitating property; excessive fines; and eighth amendment procedures. For each part, under each section, the relevant case is named, the year and court are listed, and a synopsis of the main conclusion or issue is presented. The case outlines in all three parts are updated regularly and are available on-line to Federal prosecutors on Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Online (AFML Online), which is maintained by the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section. Access is restricted to law enforcement agencies only.