Bennis v. Michigan

The ruling affirmed the government's right to seize private property, known as forfeiture, if the property was used as a public nuisance. The Supreme Court decided that taking a vehicle did not violate the owner's right to due process because Michigan's nuisance abatement law legally transferred ownership of the car to the state. The Court also decided that the innocent property owner was not entitled to payment for the seized property. This contrasts with the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments' guarantees of just compensation when property is taken for public use. The ruling assured that law enforcement agencies would be able to use forfeiture laws in their fight against drugs, gambling, and prostitution.

Since 1827, private property has been seized from an innocent owner if the property was used to break the law. A ship, the Palmyra, was commissioned by the King of Spain to attack a U.S. vessel. The owner argued that he had not been convicted of privateering, using a privately owned ship to attack an enemy vessel, so the ship should not be confiscated. The court disagreed, stating that the ship was the offender.

Later cases also supported seizure of private property used for illegal purposes, even when respective owners were unaware of illegal use. During Prohibition (1919-1933), when alcohol was illegal, the Court upheld the forfeiture of cars used to transport liquor, even though the owners did not know the car was being used for this purpose. In 1974, the Supreme Court decided that a yacht leasing company should forfeit a yacht after a customer came on board with a marijuana cigarette.