Blank Rome Files Amicus Brief in Timbs v. Indiana Civil Forfeiture Lawsuit before U.S. Supreme Court
A Blank Rome team filed an amicus brief on behalf of a group of Indiana attorneys who regularly represent clients in civil forfeiture proceedings in Indiana’s state courts, in support of Tyson Timbs, who prevailed in the unanimous decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in Timbs v. Indiana on February 20, 2019.
The trial court in Timbs had found that the forfeiture of Tyson Timbs’s new Land Rover SUV, which was purchased with life insurance proceeds, violated the Eighth Amendment. The trial court reasoned that even though Timbs had engaged in one isolated drug transaction, the forfeiture of his new $42,000 vehicle was excessive. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Indiana held that whether or not the forfeiture was excessive, the Eighth Amendment did not apply to proceedings initiated in state court. That court set the trial court’s ruling aside, and the U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded, holding that the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause is incorporated through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and is therefore applicable to the states.
There has been extensive media coverage recently on law enforcement’s incentivized role in bringing civil forfeiture cases against accused property based on isolated examples of misconduct—notably by low-income individuals who may not be able to afford legal representation—to help fund essential municipal services. This decision is vitally important in helping to curtail forfeiture abuses at the state level, and notably of importance as to whether states revise their civil forfeiture standards to comply with Timbs.
The Blank Rome team was led by Jim Giles, Bill Shields, and Jed Silversmith.