NCJ Number
159230
Journal
Criminal Law Bulletin Volume: 31 Issue: 6 Dated: (November-December 1995) Pages: 502-533
Date Published
1995
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This discussion of the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution proposes a national standard for the application of this clause to civil forfeiture.
Abstract
The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that lower courts must apply the clause to civil forfeiture, but it expressly declined to formulate the appropriate test. As a result, lower courts have had great difficulty analyzing the excessiveness of civil forfeitures and currently apply a number of different excessiveness tests. The proposed test has three parts. It states that a civil forfeiture should not violate the excessive fines clause where (1) the property was an integral part of the commission of the crime, or (2) the defendant property was deliberately selected to secure a special advantage in the commission of the crime, or (3) the criminal activity involving the defendant property was sufficiently extensive in terms of time and/or spatial use of the property. This proposed test is consistent with existing case law, statutory language, and constitutional restraints. Lower courts should adopt it until another Congress or the Supreme Court provides further guidance. Footnotes