NCJ Number
148581
Date Published
1994
Length
65 pages
Annotation
The Asset Forfeiture Office, Criminal Division (AFO) addresses issues stemming from the Supreme Court's rulings in Austin and Alexander.
Abstract
On June 28, 1993, the Supreme Court unanimously held that civil and criminal forfeitures for violations of the criminal laws are subject to the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment, but did not set a standard against which challenges to such forfeitures would be judged. AFO, in order to promote uniformity in responding to excessiveness challenges, sets forth a desirable and legally supportable standard. According to the standard, a civil or criminal forfeiture should not violate the Eighth Amendment where: 1) The criminal activity involving the property has been sufficiently extensive in terms of time and/or spatial use of the property; 2) the role of the property was integral or indispensable to the commission of the crime(s) in question; or 3) The particular property was deliberately selected to secure a special advantage in the commission of the crime(s). Also discussed are factors pertaining to specifics of the crime, property, owner, and value of contraband. AFO says that only in the rarest and most extreme cases will forfeitures be held to violate the Excessive Fines Clause.