28 U.S.C. § 2466 — Fugitive disentitlement

Page 614 TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE § 2466 for costs and attorneys fees associated with any such claim if the United States— (i) promptly recognizes such claim; (ii) promptly returns the interest of the claimant in the property to the claimant, if the property can be divided without difficulty and there are no competing claims to that por- tion of the property; (iii) does not cause the claimant to incur ad- ditional, reasonable costs or fees; and (iv) prevails in obtaining forfeiture with re- spect to one or more of the other claims. (D) If the court enters judgment in part for the claimant and in part for the Government, the court shall reduce the award of costs and attor- ney fees accordingly. (June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 975; Pub. L. 106–185, § 4(a), Apr. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 211.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §§ 818, 827 (R.S. §§ 970, 979). Section consolidates sections 818 and 827 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., with changes of phraseology necessary to effect the consolidation. The words ‘‘in any proceeding to condemn or forfeit property’’ were inserted in conformity with the uni- form course of judicial decisions. See Hammel v. Little, App.D.C. 1936, 87 F.2d 907, and cases there cited. The qualifying language of section 827 of title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., requiring the claimant to pay his own costs before the return of his property was omitted as unnecessary and involving a matter more properly for regulation by rule of court. (See sections 1913, 1914, and 1925 of this title.) (See also section 2006 of this title with respect to ac- tions against internal revenue officers and their liabil- ity for acts in the performance of official duties.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2000—Pub. L. 106–185 amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as fol- lows: ‘‘Upon the entry of judgment for the claimant in any proceeding to condemn or forfeit property seized under any Act of Congress, such property shall be re- turned forthwith to the claimant or his agent; but if it appears that there was reasonable cause for the seizure, the court shall cause a proper certificate thereof to be entered and the claimant shall not, in such case, be en- titled to costs, nor shall the person who made the sei- zure, nor the prosecutor, be liable to suit or judgment on account of such suit or prosecution.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2000 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 106–185 applicable to any for- feiture proceeding commenced on or after the date that is 120 days after Apr. 25, 2000, see section 21 of Pub. L. 106–185, set out as a note under section 1324 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. § 2466. Fugitive disentitlement (a) A judicial officer may disallow a person from using the resources of the courts of the United States in furtherance of a claim in any related civil forfeiture action or a claim in third party proceedings in any related criminal for- feiture action upon a finding that such person— (1) after notice or knowledge of the fact that a warrant or process has been issued for his apprehension, in order to avoid criminal pros- ecution— (A) purposely leaves the jurisdiction of the United States; (B) declines to enter or reenter the United States to submit to its jurisdiction; or (C) otherwise evades the jurisdiction of the court in which a criminal case is pending against the person; and (2) is not confined or held in custody in any other jurisdiction for commission of criminal conduct in that jurisdiction. (b) Subsection (a) may be applied to a claim filed by a corporation if any majority share- holder, or individual filing the claim on behalf of the corporation is a person to whom sub- section (a) applies. (Added Pub. L. 106–185, § 14(a), Apr. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 219; amended Pub. L. 107–56, title III, § 322, Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 315; Pub. L. 109–162, title XI, § 1171(c), Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3123; Pub. L. 109–177, title IV, § 406(a)(1), Mar. 9, 2006, 120 Stat. 244.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2006—Pub. L. 109–177 directed amendment of directory language of Pub. L. 107–56, § 322, identical to amend- ment by Pub. L. 109–162. See below. Pub. L. 109–162 amended directory language of Pub. L. 107–56, § 322. See 2001 Amendment note below. 2001—Pub. L. 107–56, § 322, as amended by Pub. L. 109–162, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2006 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 109–162, title XI, § 1171(c), Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3123, provided in part that the amendment made by sec- tion 1171(c) of Pub. L. 109–162 is effective Oct. 26, 2001. EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 106–185, § 14(c), Apr. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 219, pro- vided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [en- acting this section] shall apply to any case pending on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Apr. 25, 2000].’’ § 2467. Enforcement of foreign judgment (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— (1) the term ‘‘foreign nation’’ means a coun- try that has become a party to the United Na- tions Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (referred to in this section as the ‘‘United Na- tions Convention’’) or a foreign jurisdiction with which the United States has a treaty or other formal international agreement in effect providing for mutual forfeiture assistance; and (2) the term ‘‘forfeiture or confiscation judg- ment’’ means a final order of a foreign nation compelling a person or entity— (A) to pay a sum of money representing the proceeds of an offense described in Arti- cle 3, Paragraph 1, of the United Nations Convention, any violation of foreign law that would constitute a violation or an of- fense for which property could be forfeited under Federal law if the offense were com- mitted in the United States, or any foreign offense described in section 1956(c)(7)(B) of