What Constitutes Adequate Notice to Prisoners Under the Federal Drug Forfeiture and Customs Laws?
Dusenbery v. United States Docket No. 00-6567 From: The Sixth Circuit Case at a Glance The defendant was convicted on federal drug charges. The government instituted forfeiture proceedings for the cash that was seized when the defendant was arrested. The government published notice of the forfeiture and sent notice to the defendant via registered mail at the federal prison where the defendant was incarcerated. A mailroom employee signed for the notice, but there is no evidence that the defendant received it. Now the defendant contests the forfeiture and alleges the lack of actual (in person, hand-delivered) notice of the forfeiture violated his due process rights. • Previewed by Mary Phelan D Isa, a professor of law at Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich.
