‘‘§ 983. Prohibiting civil forfeiture 
‘‘No person shall be required, under the laws of the 
United States, to forfeit to the United States any prop-
erty, real or personal, pursuant to a civil forfeiture pro-
ceeding, including a nonjudicial civil forfeiture pro-
ceeding.’’. 
(b) FOREIGN FORFEITURE.—Section 981 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 981. Forfeiture involving foreign countries 
‘‘(a) ARREST OR CHARGE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any person is arrested or 
charged in a foreign country in connection with an 
offense that would give rise to the forfeiture of prop-
erty in the United States under the Controlled Sub-
stances Act, the Attorney General may apply to any 
Federal judge or magistrate judge in the district in 
which the property is located for an ex parte order 
restraining the property subject to forfeiture for not 
more than 30 days, except that the time may be ex-
tended for good cause shown at a hearing conducted 
in the manner provided in rule 43(e) of the Federal 
Rules of Civil Procedure. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—The application for the re-
straining order shall set forth the nature and cir-
cumstances of the foreign charges and the basis for 
belief that the person arrested or charged has prop-
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erty in the United States that would be subject to 
forfeiture, and shall contain a statement that the re-
straining order is needed to preserve the availability 
of property for such time as is necessary to receive 
evidence from the foreign country or elsewhere in 
support of probable cause for the seizure of the 
property under this subsection. 
‘‘(b) TRANSFER.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Whenever property is 
criminally forfeited under this chapter, the Attorney 
General or the Secretary of the Treasury, as the 
case may be, may transfer the forfeited personal 
property or the proceeds of the sale of any forfeited 
personal or real property to any foreign country 
which participated directly or indirectly in the sei-
zure or forfeiture of the property, if such a trans-
fer— 
‘‘(A) has been agreed to by the Secretary 
of State; 
‘‘(B) is authorized in an international 
agreement between the United States and the 
foreign country; and 
‘‘(C) is made to a country which, if appli-
cable, has been certified under section 490(b) of 
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. 
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A decision by the Attorney General or the Secretary 
of the Treasury pursuant to this subsection shall not 
be subject to review. The foreign country shall, in 
the event of a transfer of property or proceeds of 
sale of property under this subsection, bear all ex-
penses incurred by the United States in the seizure, 
maintenance, inventory, storage, forfeiture, and dis-
position of the property, and all transfer costs. The 
payment of all such expenses, and the transfer of as-
sets pursuant to this paragraph, shall be upon such 
terms and conditions as the Attorney General or the 
Secretary of the Treasury may, in his discretion, set. 
‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The provisions 
of this section shall not be construed as limiting or 
superseding any other authority of the United States 
to provide assistance to a foreign country in obtain-
ing property related to a crime committed in the for-
eign country, including property which is sought as 
evidence of a crime committed in the foreign coun-
try. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘Attorney General’ means the At-
torney General or his delegate; and 
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‘‘(2) the term ‘Secretary of the Treasury’ 
means the Secretary of the Treasury or his dele-
gate.’’. 
(c) CIVIL FORFEITURE OF FUNGIBLE PROPERTY.— 
Section 984 of title 18, United States Code, is repealed. 
(d) CIVIL FORFEITURE OF REAL PROPERTY.—Sec-
tion 985 of title 18, United States Code, is repealed. 
(e) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—Section 986 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 986. Access to records in bank secrecy jurisdic-
tions 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any ancillary proceeding in 
any criminal forfeiture case governed by section 413(n) 
of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853(n)), in 
which— 
‘‘(1) financial records located in a foreign coun-
try may be material to any claim or to the ability 
of the Government to respond to such claim; and 
‘‘(2) it is within the capacity of the claimant to 
waive the claimant’s rights under applicable finan-
cial secrecy laws, or to obtain the records so that 
such records can be made available notwithstanding 
such secrecy laws, 
the refusal of the claimant to provide the records in re-
sponse to a discovery request or to take the action nec-
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essary otherwise to make the records available shall be 
grounds for judicial sanctions, up to and including dis-
missal of the claim with prejudice. 
‘‘(b) PRIVILEGE.—This section shall not affect the 
right of the claimant to refuse production on the basis of 
any privilege guaranteed by the Constitution of the United 
States or any other provision of Federal law.’’. 
(f) ANTI-TERRORIST FORFEITURE PROTECTION.— 
Section 987 of title 18, United States Code, is repealed. 
(g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of sec-
tions for chapter 46 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by amending the item related to section 981 
to read as follows: 
‘‘981. Forfeiture involving foreign countries.’’; 
(2) by amending the item related to section 983 
to read as follows: 
‘‘983. Prohibiting civil forfeiture.’’; 
(3) by striking the items related to sections 984 
and 985; 
(4) by amending the item related to section 986 
to read as follows: 
‘‘986. Access to records in bank secrecy jurisdictions.’’; and 
(5) by striking the item related to section 987. 
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SEC. 102. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE CON-
TROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT. 
(a) CRIMINAL FORFEITURES.—Section 413 of the 
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (i)(4), by striking ‘‘provisions 
of section 511(e) of this title (21 U.S.C. 881(e))’’ 
and inserting ‘‘provisions of section 511(a)’’; and 
(2) in subsection (j)— 
(A) by amending the heading to read as 
follows: ‘‘APPLICABILITY OF FORFEITURE PRO-
VISIONS’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘Except’’ and inserting 
‘‘(1) Except’’; 
(C) by striking ‘‘section 511(d) of this title 
(21 U.S.C. 881(d))’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 
(2)’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) The provisions of law relating to the sei-
zure, summary and judicial forfeiture, and con-
demnation of property for violation of the customs 
laws; the disposition of such property or the pro-
ceeds from the sale thereof; the remission or mitiga-
tion of such forfeitures; and the compromise of 
claims shall apply to seizures and forfeitures in-
curred, or alleged to have been incurred, under any 
of the provisions of this title, insofar as applicable 
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and not inconsistent with the provisions hereof; ex-
cept that such duties as are imposed upon the cus-
toms officer or any other person with respect to the 
seizure and forfeiture of property under the customs 
laws shall be performed with respect to seizures and 
forfeitures of property under this title by such offi-
cers, agents, or other persons as may be authorized 
or designated for that purpose by the Attorney Gen-
eral, except to the extent that such duties arise from 
seizures and forfeitures effected by any customs offi-
cer.’’; and 
(3) in subsection (n)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘pursuant to this sec-
tion may, within thirty days of the final 
publication of notice or his receipt of notice 
under paragraph (1), whichever is earlier,’’ 
and inserting ‘‘may’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘The hearing shall be 
held before the court alone, without a 
jury.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘the pe-
titioner may testify and present evidence and 
witnesses on his own behalf, and cross-examine 
witnesses who appear at the hearing.’’ and in-
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serting ‘‘the petitioner or counsel for the peti-
tioner may testify and present evidence and wit-
nesses, and cross-examine witnesses who appear 
at the hearing. Upon any showing by the peti-
tioner or counsel for the petitioner that he has 
legal interest in property which has been or-
dered forfeited to the United States, there shall 
be established a rebuttable presumption that 
the order of forfeiture is invalid with respect to 
the petitioner’s interest in property.’’; 
(C) in paragraph (6)— 
(i) in the matter preceding paragraph 
(A), by striking ‘‘If, after the hearing, the 
court determines that the petitioner has es-
tablished’’ and inserting ‘‘In the case that 
there has been established a rebuttable 
presumption that the order of forfeiture is 
invalid with respect to the petitioner’s in-
terest in property, the Government may 
overcome such presumption if the Govern-
ment establishes’’; 
(ii) by amending subparagraph (A) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(A) the defendant has a legal right, title, 
or interest in the property, and such right, title, 
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or interest renders the order of forfeiture valid 
in whole or in part because the right, title, or 
interest was vested in the defendant rather than 
the petitioner or was superior to any right, title, 
or interest of the petitioner at the time of the 
commission of the acts which gave rise to the 
forfeiture of the property under this section; 
or’’; 
(iii) by amending subparagraph (B) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(B) the petitioner is not a bona fide pur-
chaser for value of the right, title, or interest 
in the property or, at the time of purchase, had 
cause to believe that the property was subject 
to forfeiture under this section.’’; and 
(iv) in the matter following subpara-
graph (B)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘the court’’ and 
inserting ‘‘After the hearing, the 
court’’; and 
(II) by inserting before the pe-
riod at the end the following: ‘‘, or, if 
the forfeited property has already 
been disposed of by the Government 
in accordance with law, order the Gov-
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ernment to compensate the petitioner 
for an amount equal to the value of 
the petitioner’s interest in the prop-
erty at the time the property was for-
feited’’; 
(D) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘Fol-
lowing the court’s disposition of all petitions 
filed under this subsection, or if no such peti-
tions are filed following the expiration of the 
period provided in paragraph (2) for the filing 
of such petitions’’ and inserting ‘‘180 days after 
final publication or receipt of notice under para-
graph (1)’’; and 
(E) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8)(A) If a person with standing to contest the 
forfeiture of property under this subsection is finan-
cially unable to obtain representation by counsel, 
and the property subject to forfeiture is real prop-
erty that is being used by the person as a primary 
residence, the court, at the request of the person, 
shall ensure that the person is represented by an at-
torney for the Legal Services Corporation with re-
spect to the claim. 
‘‘(B)(i) At appropriate times during a represen-
tation under subparagraph (A), the Legal Services 
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Corporation shall submit a statement of reasonable 
attorney fees and costs to the court. 
‘‘(ii) The court shall enter a judgment in favor of the 
Legal Services Corporation for reasonable attorney fees 
and costs submitted pursuant to clause (i) and treat such 
judgment as payable under section 2465 of title 28, 
United States Code, regardless of the outcome of the case. 
‘‘(C) The court shall set the compensation 
for representation under this subsection, which 
shall be equivalent to that provided for court- 
appointed representation under section 3006A 
of this title.’’. 
(b) FORFEITURES.—Section 511 of the Controlled 
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 881) is amended— 
(1) by striking subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d); 
(2) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (a); 
(3) in subsection (a)(1), as redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘civilly or’’; 
(4) by striking subsections (f), (g), (h), (i), and 
(j); and 
(5) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 
(b). 
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TITLE II—STATE FORFEITURE 
SEC. 201. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Constitution authorizes and obligates 
each branch of the Federal Government to protect 
individual rights. 
(2) Congress is specifically authorized by the 
Fourteenth Amendment to provide remedies for 
States’ violations of individual rights secured by the 
Constitution. 
(3) The Constitution secures the rights of indi-
viduals whom the Government seeks to punish for 
violating its laws. 
(4) The Government’s use of in rem pro-
ceedings to forfeit property to punish legal violations 
without affording property owners the rights of 
criminal defendants plainly violates their constitu-
tionally secured rights. 
(5) The Government’s use of a legal tool at the 
time of the founding does not preclude its being in-
compatible with constitutionally secured rights. 
(6) The long-term failure of Congress, presi-
dents, and the judiciary to recognize the illegitimacy 
of the Government’s civil forfeiture practices does 
not divest them of the authority to do so. 
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(7) The Government cannot lawfully jettison 
the rights of the accused for the sake of convenience 
and profit. 
(8) The early use of civil forfeiture in the 
United States was limited to admiralty and revenue 
contexts, in which the existence of a legal violation 
and the identity of the property used to effect it 
were often self-evident, and the owner of the prop-
erty to be seized was often unobtainable. 
(9) Although the limitations on early civil for-
feiture practices do not prevent those practices from 
being constitutionally infirm, they do materially dis-
tinguish the early practices from modern civil for-
feiture. 
(10) The modern use of civil forfeiture by 
States is not limited to admiralty or revenue con-
texts, its reach extends far beyond property used to 
commit an offense, and it is used often to supple-
ment, rather than recover, the Government’s reve-
nues. 
(11) Civil forfeiture statutes and precedents in-
corporate certain protections for property owners 
that, although limited, erode the nature of the pro-
ceedings as truly in rem and betray the punitive 
character of civil forfeiture. 
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(12) The tortured status of civil forfeiture in 
current law, in which the fiction of the property as 
the defendant is sustained, yet the interests of prop-
erty owners are, to a limited extent, nonetheless rec-
ognized, is the inevitable result of grandfathering 
civil forfeiture into a constitutional system that oth-
erwise secures the rights of the accused. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Constitution authorizes and obligates Con-
gress to prohibit the use of civil asset forfeiture by the 
States. 
SEC. 202. STATE CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Property owned by a person may 
be forfeited to a State pursuant to a civil proceeding only 
after— 
(1) criminal conviction of such person for viola-
tion of State criminal law; or 
(2) a civil proceeding in which— 
(A) the State proves that the person who 
owns the property has committed the offense 
giving rise to forfeiture; and 
(B) the person who owns such property is 
entitled to all rights applicable to criminal de-
fendants under the Constitution, including the 
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right to be represented by counsel and the right 
to trial by jury. 
(b) FEDERAL CAUSE
OF ACTION.—A person ag-
grieved by a violation of subsection (a) may bring a civil 
action against the State in the appropriate Federal district 
court for relief, including return of forfeited property and 
enforcement of the procedures described in subsection (a). 
SEC. 203. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
apply with respect to— 
(1) forfeiture proceedings occurring on or after 
the date of enactment of this Act; and 
(2) forfeiture proceedings pending on or after 
such date. 
Æ 
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