United States v. Ursery
United States Supreme Court
518 U.S. 267 (1996)
Police found marijuana growing in Ursery's (defendant) house, and the government (plaintiff) both convicted him of manufacturing marijuana and brought a civil forfeiture action against his home. The court of appeals reversed Ursery's conviction, reasoning that the earlier forfeiture already punished him for the same conduct. In a consolidated companion case, two other defendants were convicted of drug and money-laundering crimes after a civil in rem forfeiture action against their property; the court of appeals there similarly held forfeiture barred the later prosecution. The Supreme Court consolidated both cases.
Whether the Double Jeopardy Clause bars the government from bringing both a criminal prosecution and a civil in rem forfeiture proceeding against a defendant based on the same underlying offense.