And should the delay be judged by speedy trial or general due process standards? The United States Supreme Court agreed to consider the issue in Alvarez v. Smith (Doc. Had the property owners prevailed, adjustments in federal law might have been required. The case was complicated by several factors. Before the Court could rule on the merits, the city returned the cars it had seized from the claimants and settled their other claims. Alternatively, it may be seized without a warrant or process, if there is probable cause to believe that the property is subject to forfeiture and seizure would be otherwise reasonable. The state may confiscate the property administratively (without a court hearing), if the forfeiture is uncontested and the property is valued at under $20,000 or is a car or other conveyance. Then, the circuit court felt bound by the Supreme Court's $8,850 (Vasquez) decision, which held that the Barker v. Wingo speedy trial factors govern the outcome, that is, "the length of delay, the reason for the delay, the defendant's assertion of this right, and prejudice to the defendant." In Smith , the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court's decision to dismiss . More to the point, it declared that the question of whether the circumstances of a particular case warranted an exception must be answered using the factors identified in Mathews v. Eldridge : "the risk of erroneous deprivation of [a private] interest through the procedures used, as well as the probable value of additional safeguards; and the Government's interest, including the administrative burden that additional procedural requirements would impose." The Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider
In determining whether the Due Process Clause requires a State or local government to provide a post-seizure probable cause hearing prior to a statutory judicial forfeiture proceeding and, if so, when such a hearing must take place, should district courts apply the "speedy trial" test employed in United States v. $8,850 , 461 U.S. 555 (1983) and Barker v. Wingo , 407 U.S. 514 (1972) or the three-part due process analysis set forth in Mathews v. Eldridge , 424 U.S. 319 (1976). Fourth, the Illinois statute is modeled after the federal statute, neither of which offends due process, in light of the right under either law to seek return of seized property. Alvarez v. Smith

The Court learned upon inquiry that the groups' claims had been resolved. Since the group had been denied certification to act as representatives in a class action, they stood before the Court only on the basis of their individual claims. The members of the Court were only slightly more divided over whether the Seventh Circuit opinion should be vacated or allowed to stand.
Alvarez v. Smith became moot while pending before the United States Supreme Court. At the time, the Court had agreed to decide whether a six-month delay between a state's seizure of property and its forfeiture hearing requires additional procedural safeguards. Traditionally, forfeiture hearing delays have been judged by the speedy trial standards of Barker v. Wingo. The Court had been asked to decide whether they should instead be judged by the general due process standards of Mathews v. Eldridge.
Alvarez v. Smith arose in Chicago where a group of property owners filed a civil rights class action against city and state officials over city practices under the Illinois drug forfeiture statute. Under the statute, cars and trucks regardless of their value and money or other property valued at under $20,000 may be seized without a warrant by officers with probable cause to believe it is subject to confiscation. The forfeiture hearing may be held as late as 187 days after the seizure. The Smith group argued their property could not be held for that long without intervening safeguards against hardship and erroneous seizure. The district court dismissed their suit using the higher threshold Barker speedy trial standards to assess the delay and its impact. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed. It felt use of the Mathews standards better suited and returned the case to the lower court for determination of an appropriate remedy. At that point, the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Before the Court could rule, however, the city returned the cars it had seized from members of the group and settled the group's claims relating the other property seized. In the absence of a case or controversy, the Court vacated the Seventh Circuit opinion and returned the matter to the lower court.
The Illinois statute tracks the federal statutes in several respects. Thus, had the Seventh Circuit view prevailed, changes in federal law might have been required.
Related reports include CRS Report 97-139, Crime and Forfeiture, by [author name scrubbed], which is also available in abbreviated form as CRS Report RS22005, Crime and Forfeiture: In Short, by [author name scrubbed].