Originally from Asset Forfeiture Law in the United States, Third Edition
§ 20-1 Overview
Rule 32.2 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure sets out the requirements for making the order of forfeiture part of the defendant’s sentence. While the requirements are simple enough, courts and practitioners have had difficulty remembering to follow them. The first part of this chapter discusses the steps the court is required to take under the rule and the case law regarding the remedies available when the court fails to follow those steps.
The next part of the chapter discusses the relationship between the forfeiture order and other parts of the defendant’s sentence including the fine, term of incarceration under the Sentencing Guidelines, term of supervised release, and order of restitution.
The chapter concludes with a discussion of the defendant’s right to seek a stay of the forfeiture order pending appeal, the survival of a forfeiture order if a case is remanded for resentencing, and the procedure for amending a forfeiture order to include newly discovered property.
Stefan D. Cassella, as a federal prosecutor, was one of the federal government's leading experts on asset forfeiture law for over thirty years, and now serves as an expert witness and consultant to law enforcement agencies and the financial sector as the CEO of AssetForfeitureLaw, LLC.