In modern U.S. usage, forfeiture is deprivation or destruction of a
right
Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...
in consequence of the non-performance of some
obligation
An obligation is a course of action that someone is required to take, whether legal or moral. Obligations are constraints; they limit freedom. People who are under obligations may choose to freely act under obligations. Obligation exists when the ...
or condition. It can be accidental, and therefore is distinguished from
waiver
A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege.
Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...
; ''see
waiver and forfeiture Forfeiture and waiver are two concepts that U.S. courts apply in determining whether reversible error has occurred. Waiver is the voluntary relinquishment, surrender or abandonment of some known right or privilege. Forfeiture is the act of losing o ...
.''
Overview
Historically, forfeiture of a convict's land and other assets followed on from conviction for certain serious offences (and thus resulted from criminal activity rather than from a failure to act). A striking illustration of the practical effects of this rule is
Giles Corey
Giles Corey ( August 1611 – September 19, 1692) was an English-born American farmer who was accused of witchcraft along with his wife Martha Corey during the Salem witch trials. After being arrested, Corey refused to enter a plea of guilty o ...
’s refusal to plead, in the
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom w ...
, instead dying under ''
peine forte et dure
' (Law French for "hard and forceful punishment") was a method of torture formerly used in the common law legal system, in which a defendant who refused to plead ("stood mute") would be subjected to having heavier and heavier stones placed upon ...
''. By refusing to plead he avoided the jurisdiction of the court and thus avoided conviction and the consequent forfeiture of his estate. Instead it passed to his sons.
Forfeiture is broadly defined as the loss of property for failing to obey the law, and that property is generally lost to the state. A person may have a vested interest in property to be forfeit in two ways:
''In personum'' jurisdiction and
''in rem'' jurisdiction. ''In personum'' actions are against the owner of property, whereas ''in rem'' actions are taken directly against the object. ''In rem'' forfeiture actions may lead to unusual or even comedic case names, such as ''
United States v. One Solid Gold Object in Form of a Rooster
''United States v. One Solid Gold Object in Form of a Rooster'' (208 F. Supp. 99 – Dist. Court, D. Nevada 1962) is a United States District Court for the District of Nevada civil forfeiture case between the United States and a solid gold statue ...
''. The
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
RICO was en ...
provides for modern forfeiture actions in the United States with regards to criminal prosecution. This allows for forfeiture absent an ''in rem'' action. Any enterprise used to commit a crime under the RICO act may be seized. For example, a hotel owner who runs a prostitution business from his hotel and has bribed local officials to stay quiet could be subject to forfeiture under the act.
See also
*
Asset forfeiture
Asset forfeiture or asset seizure is a form of confiscation of assets by the authorities. In the United States, it is a type of criminal-justice financial obligation. It typically applies to the alleged proceeds or instruments of crime. This ap ...
References
American legal terminology
Law of obligations
Rights
Legal terminology
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