Findlaw News

Case Summaries

Asset Forfeiture

[06/18] US v. 777 Greene Ave.
In a civil forfeiture proceeding, the motion to withdraw of defendant's counsel is denied where such a motion will not be granted unless counsel satisfies the requirements established under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1976), and its progeny. With regard to motions to withdraw filed by appellate counsel appointed pursuant to 18 U.S.C. section 983(b)(2)(A), the procedure established under Anders and its progeny is best suited to protect the right to counsel to which indigent litigants are entitled.

[06/10] People v. Indiana Lumbermens Mut. Ins. Co.
In a motion to set aside a forfeiture and exonerate a bond, court of appeals' reversal of trial court's denial is reversed as a motion for relief from forfeiture of bail must be made within 180 days of forfeiture, unless the time is extended as the governing statute permits, even when an absconding defendant is arrested or surrendered in a county other than the jurisdiction where the case is pending.

[05/07] ERI Consulting Eng'r, Inc. v. Swinnea
In plaintiffs' suit against his former business partner claiming various causes of action including common law fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, judgment of the court of appeals holding that equitable forfeiture is not an available remedy is reversed as, when a partner in a business breached his fiduciary duty by fraudulently inducing another partner to buy out his interest, the consideration received by the breaching party for his interest in the business is subject to forfeiture as a remedy for the breach, in addition to other damages that result from the tortious conduct.

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Criminal Law & Procedure

[06/28] McDonald v. City of Chicago
In an action against the City of Chicago alleging that the City's handgun ban left plaintiffs vulnerable to criminals, judgment for defendants is reversed where the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment right, recognized in Heller, to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense.

[06/25] People v. Bloom
Conviction of defendant for resisting arrest and other related charges, arising from making more than 40 harassing calls to 911 in a single evening, is affirmed over a challenge to a denial of a motion to suppress as a dispatcher lawfully arrested defendant for making the calls and she was not required to physically restrain him or to be present at the time of the arrest.

[06/24] People v. Int'l Fid. Ins., Co.
In a prosecution of defendant for attempted murder and other crimes, trial court's denial of a motion to vacate a forfeiture and exonerate bail is affirmed where: 1) the trial court did not err in denying the motion as, although defendant was subject to a greater potential maximum penalty under the first amended information than he had been under the original complaint, the charges in the first amended information were based on the same acts alleged in the complaint; and 2) the certificate of mailing of the notice of forfeiture which was signed by a deputy clerk on behalf of the clerk of the court was properly executed.

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