Substantive Law Study Support

Assignments and Projects

1. Brief the case Bennis v. Michigan, 516 U.S. 442 (1996)

Judicial History: The trial court ordered the petitioner’s automobile forfeited to the State of Michigan without compensation as it was used in criminal activity without her consent or knowledge. A Michigan appellate court reversed the trial court’s judgment, and the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals judgment. Facts: The petitioner’s husband engaged in illegal criminal activity in their jointly owned automobile. Upon his arrest, the trial court granted judgment to the state’s action for seizure of the automobile under state forfeiture laws. The trial court refused to give a portion of the value of the vehicle to the petitioner for her interest.
Issue: Did the state’s seizure of the automobile violate the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause or the Taking Clause?
Holding: No, the state properly followed court precedent, and the petitioner was not entitled to recover either the automobile or her interest in the vehicle. The judgment of the Supreme Court of Michigan is affirmed.
Rationale: The Court ruled that the state sought to deter illegal criminal activity to protect its neighborhoods. The petitioner’s jointly owned automobile was used in criminal activity; and precedence has shown that the forfeiture of vehicles used in criminal activity to the state is a longstanding practice and a valid exercise of a state’s governmental authority.

2. The Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice plays an important role in the exercise of eminent domain power by the federal government. Research this organization, and write a short paper on its
activities.

Student answers will vary, but key points that may be discussed include (taken directly from www.justice.gov/enrd/4613.htm):
- The 1930s brought a flurry of land acquisition cases in support of New Deal policies that aimed to resettle impoverished farmers, build large-scale irrigation projects, and establish new national parks.
- Condemnation was used to acquire lands for the Shenandoah, the Mammoth Cave, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
- Thousands of smaller land and natural resources projects were undertaken by Congress and facilitated by the division’s land acquisition lawyers during the New Deal era.
- During World War II, the assistant attorney general called the Lands Division “the biggest real estate office of any time or any place.” It oversaw the acquisition of more than 20 million acres of land. Property was transformed into airports and naval stations, war materials manufacturing and storage, proving grounds, and a number of other national defense installations.
- Land Acquisition Section attorneys aided in the establishment of Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida and the enlargement of the Redwood National Forest in California in the 1970s and 1980s.
- Land Acquisition Section attorneys facilitated infrastructure projects including new federal courthouses throughout the United States and the Washington, D.C. subway system, as well as the expansion of facilities including NASA’s Cape Canaveral launch facility.
- The numbers of land acquisition cases active today on behalf of the federal government are below the World War II volume, but the projects undertaken remain integral to national interests. In the past decade, Section attorneys have been actively involved in conservation work, assisting in the expansion of the Everglades National Park in Florida and the creation of the Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico.
- In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Land Acquisition Section attorneys secured space in New York for federal agencies whose offices were lost with the World Trade Towers.
- Today, Section projects include acquiring land along hundreds of miles of the U,S.–Mexico border to stem illegal drug trafficking and smuggling, allow for better inspection and customs facilities, and forestall terrorists.

3. Locate the oral arguments for Bennis v. Michigan. (Hint: Check the Web sites for the Supreme Court and the Oyez Project). Listen to the arguments and summarize the one that you think is most persuasive.
Student answers will vary, but responses should focus on the key facts of the case and whether they believe that the state has a right to forfeit property used in illegal criminal activity.

Putting It Into Practice

1. Assume that a client has received notice that his home is to be taken for a proposed freeway. He wants to be sure that he receives a fair price for his home. Go on the Internet and locate at least two appraisers who might be hired as expert witnesses in the event the case goes to trial.
Student answers will vary, however, they should focus on individuals or companies that regularly deal with eminent domain appraisals.