Practice Areas
Forfeiture
The federal and state governments are seizing more property, and more valuable property, for forfeiture than ever before. Many of these seizures are illegal. Getting the seized property back for its owners requires expert knowledge of this specialized and complicated area of the law.
David B. Smith is the author of the leading two-volume treatise, Prosecution and Defense of Forfeiture Cases, published by Matthew Bender and updated twice each year. He is considered the foremost expert on forfeiture law and practice in the United States. He litigates civil and criminal forfeiture cases all over the country and has served as an expert on American forfeiture law in foreign forfeiture cases. He also provides assistance to other attorneys who defend forfeiture cases, who are generally not familiar with this arcane legal specialty. Mr. Smith is a frequent lecturer on forfeiture practice and has helped train FBI special agents in the area of forfeiture.
At the Department of Justice, Mr. Smith was the first Deputy Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Office, Criminal Division, where he was responsible for supervising all federal forfeiture litigation.
Mr. Smith has served since 1990 as Co-Chair of the Forfeiture Abuse Task Force of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). In that position he has frequently helped to draft federal and state forfeiture legislation, lobbied for forfeiture reform, and participated in cutting edge forfeiture litigation, including several U.S. Supreme Court cases. For his many hours of pro bono work on behalf of the criminal defense bar, he has received the NACDL President’s Commendation three times, most recently in 2004.
Mr. Smith has also represented the NACDL and the entire defense bar over the years while assisting the federal judiciary with drafting and revising the procedural rules governing forfeiture proceedings in United States courts. He has worked closely with both the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules and the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules.
Mr. Smith was very heavily involved in drafting and negotiating the enactment, by unanimous vote, of the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000, the only major reform of this Nation’s civil forfeiture laws in over 200 years. He continues to provide expert advice to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees in the area of forfeiture law.
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"Over the years that I have used this resource, I can honestly say that I have come up with no issue so esoteric that it is not somewhere mentioned in this tome."
--Sharon L. Kegerreis, Criminal Defense Lawyer, Zuckerman, Spaeder, Taylor & Evans
"And I must thank David Smith, who has been there since the beginning. David helped me draft my first forfeiture reform bill " the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 1993 " and helped draft Senators Leahy's and Hatch's reform bill, and helped draft the Senate-passed bill we are considering today. This bill is truly his accomplishment."
--From the Remarks of Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, before the House of Representatives, April 11, 2000, about Mr. Smith's assistance in drafting the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000.
"Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to David Smith, a leading expert on civil asset forfeiture, who gave tirelessly of his time over the past few months. His expertise and good counsel were invaluable in producing the legislation that the Senate passes today."
--From the Remarks of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) before the Senate, March 27, 2000, about Mr. Smith's assistance in drafting the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000.
For information on ordering Mr. Smith's treatises, please visit the Matthew Bender bookstore at www.lexisnexis.com/bookstore.
