State v. Troy Allen Lanning, 2021AP1849, 9/19/2023, District 3, recommended for publication; case activity (including briefs) Here’s an odd one. The state charged Lanning in a meth trafficking operation and separately filed a civil action seeking forfeiture of some real property that he owned, had lived in, and, said the state, distributed meth from. See… Read more
J. Forfeiture of seized property
State v. John Dean Pleuss, 2021AP504-CR, District 4, 8/25/22 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) The deadline for filing a return of property application under § 968.20 is “directory” rather than mandatory, so failing to comply with the deadline doesn’t deny a circuit court the competency to decide the application if the petitioner… Read more
Village of Greendale v. Matthew R. Derzay, 2019AP2294, District 1, 3/30/31 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs) The burden of proof for a petitioner under § 968.20 is preponderance of the evidence, but the circuit court applied the clear and convincing standard and demanded Derzay provide certain kinds of proof to meet that… Read more
State v. Michael J. Scott, et al., 2019 WI App 22; case activity (including briefs) Applying long-standing U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the court of appeals holds that the exclusionary rule can be used to defend against a civil forfeiture complaint filed by the state. But it also holds the state should have a shot at… Read more
Tyson Timbs v. Indiana, USSC 17-1091, certiorari granted 6/18/18 Question presented: Whether the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause is incorporated against the States under the Fourteenth Amendment. Decision below: State v. Timbs, 84 N.E.3d 1179 (Ind. 2017) USSC Docket Scotusblog page (including links to cert petition, briefs, and commentary) The State sought to forfeit Tyson Timbs’s Land… Read more
Terry Michael Honeycutt v. United States, USSC No. 16-142, 2017 WL 2407468 (June 5, 2017), reversing United States v. Honeycutt, 816 F.3d 362 (6th Cir. 2016); Scotusblog page (including links to briefs and commentary) A federal statute—21 U.S.C. § 853—mandates forfeiture of “any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly… Read more
Sila Luis v. United States, USSC No. 14-419, 2016 WL 1228690 (March 30, 2016), vacating and remanding U.S. v. Luis, 564 Fed. Appx. 493 (11th Cir. 2014) (per curiam) (unpublished); Scotusblog page (including links to briefs and commentary) The question presented in this case is whether the pretrial restraint of a criminal defendant’s legitimate, untainted assets—that is… Read more
State v. One 2013 Toyota Corolla, 2015 WI App 84; case activity (including briefs) While a co-owner’s interest in a car didn’t make her the owner for purposes of the “innocent owner” exception to property forfeiture under § 961.55(1)(d)2., forfeiture of her full financial interest violated the Eight Amendment’s prohibition against the levying of excessive fines… Read more
