Consequences of Government's Delay to Respond to a Petition to Remit a Forfeiture

In United States v. Von Neumann, 474 U.S. 242, 88 L. Ed. 2d 587, 106 S. Ct. 610 (1986), the claimant filed a petition to remit a forfeiture. See 19 U.S.C. 1602 through 1604 (2000). The issue before the Court was whether the government's 36-day delay in responding to the remission petition deprived the claimant of due process. The Court held that the existence of a remission procedure was constitutionally irrelevant (Von Neumann, 474 U.S. at 249-50, 88 L. Ed. 2d at 595, 106 S. Ct. at 615) and reiterated that a forfeiture proceeding that meets the Barker test satisfies due process (Von Neumann, 474 U.S. at 251, 88 L. Ed. 2d at 596, 106 S. Ct. at 615).