Asset Forfeiture

The federal and state governments are seizing more property, and more valuable property, for forfeiture than ever before. Many of these seizures are legally questionable. Getting the seized property back for its owners requires expert knowledge of this specialized and complicated area of the law. The attorneys at Smith & Zimmerman, PLLC have years of experience handling complex forfeiture matters.

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 Chair of the Forfeiture Committee of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). In that position he has 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.

Mr. Smith has also represented the NACDL and the 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 heavily involved in drafting 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.