holding that pre-seizure notice and a hearing were not required for the seizure of a yacht, when the seizure served the significant governmental purpose of allowing the government to acquire in rem jurisdiction over the property, the property was of a kind that could easily be moved to another jurisdiction if advance notice of the seizure had been given, and the seizure was conducted pursuant to the provisions of a statute
How later courts described this case
- holding that pre-seizure notice and a hearing were not required for the seizure of a yacht, when the seizure served the significant governmental purpose of allowing the government to acquire in rem jurisdiction over the property, the property was of a kind that could easily be moved to another jurisdiction if advance notice of the seizure had been given, and the seizure was conducted pursuant to the provisions of a statute
- stating in a forfeiture case that "it would be difficult to reject the constitutional claim of an owner ... who proved not only that he was uninvolved in and unaware of the wrongful activity, but also that he had done all that reasonably could be expected to prevent the proscribed use of his property," which was recognized as dicta in Bennis v. Michigan, 516 U.S. 442, 449-50, 116 S.Ct. 994, 999, 134 L.Ed.2d 68 (1996)
- holding that Puerto Rico was a "State" under the federal statute requiring that a three-judge panel convene to consider any challenge to a state statute; reasoning that the Commonwealth, like a state, is "sovereign over matters not ruled by the [U.S.] Constitution," unlike "a territory whose local affairs are subject to congressional regulation"
- holding that there was no taking where a yacht that the owner had leased was forfeited due to the discovery of marijuana on board, despite the owner of the having “no knowledge that its property was being used in connection with or in violation of’ the law
Written by the judges who cited it.
Later courts went against this
Limited by United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 889 F.2d 1258 (1989)
Rather, the Court expressly limited its holding, stating that "preseizure notice and hearing are not required in the context of this forfeiture," Calero-Toledo, 416 U.S. at 677 n. 12, 94 S.Ct. at 2089 n. 12, that is, a forfeiture presenting an extraordinary situation under the Fuentes criteria, id. 416 U.S. at 679-80, 94 S.Ct. at 2089-90.
Distinguished
Distinguished by United States v. Certain Real Property, 724 F. Supp. 908 (1989)
This Court finds, however, that the tripartite test set forth in Calero-Toledo is inapplicable, when the "innocent owner" defense is being claimed under 21 U.S.C.A. Section 881(a)(7).[13]
The opinion
Mr. Justice White,
with whom Mr. Justice-Powell joins, concurring.
I .join the Court’s opinion, and agree that there was no constitutional necessity under Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U. S. 67 (1972), or any other-case in this Court to accord the owner-lessor of the yacht a hearing in the circumstances of this case. I add, however, that the presence of important public interests which permits dispensing with a preseizure hearing in the instant case, is only one of the situations in which no prior hearing is required.. See Mitchell v. W. T. Grant Co., ante, p. 600; Arnett v. Kennedy, ante, p. 134 (White, J., concurring).