Drug Crime Forfeitures under Section 881
Under 21 U.S.C. section 881 the government may seize certain property related to drug crimes. 21 U.S.C. § 881(a)(6), (b). Federal district courts “have original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the [s]tates, of any action or proceeding for the recovery or enforcement of any . . . forfeiture.” 28 U.S.C. § 1355(a).
The most common theory for civil asset forfeiture falls under 21 U.S.C. § 881(a)(6). In that provision, Congress declared that “no property right shall exist” in “all proceeds traceable” to illegal drug sales.
Forfeiture actions initiated under section 881 are actions “in rem.” Republic Nat’l Bank of Miami v. United States, 506 U.S. 80, 84, 113 S. Ct. 554, 121 L. Ed. 2d 474 (1992). “Disposition of the property is an integral part of the court’s ability to grant the relief sought in the proceedings.” United States v. $270,000.00 in U.S. Currency, Plus Int., 1 F.3d 1146, 1148 (11th Cir. 1993).
As a result, “[i]n rem jurisdiction derives entirely from the [federal] court’s control over the defendant res.” United States v. Four Parcels of Real Prop. in Greene & Tuscaloosa Cntys., 941 F.2d 1428, 1435 (11th Cir. 1991) (en banc) (citations omitted). The courts have found “that a valid seizure of the res is a prerequisite to the initiation of an in rem civil forfeiture proceeding.” Republic Nat’l Bank of Miami, 506 U.S. at 84 (citations omitted).
In rem jurisdiction is exclusive. For this reason, “[a] state court and a federal court cannot simultaneously exercise in rem jurisdiction over the same property.” $270,000.00, 1 F.3d at 1147-48.
