Reading Room Document

Constitutional Analysis of a Proposed Statute Authorizing United States District Judges to Refer Certain Civil Forfeiture Cases to United States Magistrate Judges

This memo, written by Walter Dellinger, assessed the constitutionality of a proposed statute giving federal district courts authority to reassign civil forfeiture cases to magistrate judges, whose decisions would be subject to de novo review at the request of either party. The OLC concluded that the proposed statute violated the Seventh Amendment because it subjected jury verdicts in civil forfeiture cases to de novo review. The OLC suggested that if the statute were limited so that magistrate judges only conducted proceedings for civil forfeiture cases in which the parties waived their right to a jury trial, there would be no constitutional issues.

December 21, 1993