Criminal Asset Forfeiture as a Political Tool?

Abstract

When do U.S. Attorneys use their powers to seize the assets of criminal defendants? After introducing federal criminal asset forfeiture, the chapter details the close connection between criminal forfeiture and prosecutors’ political motivations by tracing the evolution of forfeiture policy in federal laws and Supreme Court opinions. To examine how presidential and congressional signals affect prosecutors’ decisions in this domain, we analyze criminal forfeitures in 89 federal districts from 1996 to 2013. As was the case with other prosecutorial decisions, our results indicate that criminal forfeiture serves as another important way that U.S. Attorneys respond to political signals from political superiors on the importance of prioritizing the fight of federal crime. We conclude by comparing criminal forfeitures to civil asset forfeitures, suggesting that federal prosecutors and the DOJ have largely replaced controversy-prone civil asset forfeitures with their less controversial cousin.