Originally from Asset Forfeiture Law in the United States, Third Edition
§ 8-1 Overview
Once the Government has filed a civil forfeiture complaint and the claimant has filed a claim and answer, the parties may engage in discovery and raise pre-trial procedural issues. Discovery may include the “special interrogatories” that the Government may use to test the claimant’s standing to contest the forfeiture, as well as general discovery under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The pre-trial procedural issues may include the Government’s request for a restraining order to preserve the property; the claimant’s request for the appointment of counsel; and either party’s request for the interlocutory sale of the defendant property, or to stay the civil case pending the completion of a parallel criminal investigation or trial. Along the way, either party may seek to bring the case to an early end by filing a dispositive motion.
This chapter deals with discovery and the non-dispositive pre-trial issues. It begins with the Government’s right to serve the claimant with special interrogatories under Rule G(6) and with civil discovery generally, including the sanctions available under Rule 37 if a party fails to respond to the other party’s requests. It then discusses the claimant’s right to counsel under 18 U.S.C. § 983(b), the Government’s right to a pre-trial restraining order under 18 U.S.C. § 983(j), the court’s authority to order the interlocutory sale of property under Rule G(7), and the right of either party to move for a stay of the civil case under 18 U.S.C. § 981(g).
Stefan D. Cassella, as a federal prosecutor, was one of the federal government's leading experts on asset forfeiture law for over thirty years, and now serves as an expert witness and consultant to law enforcement agencies and the financial sector as the CEO of AssetForfeitureLaw, LLC.
