Clarifying whether seizures of property are considered fines or punishments, he decreed that a criminal forfeiture could be considered as both a type of fine and a punishment, while a civil forfeiture was not intended as a punishment of a person but rather a "legal fiction of punishing the property", concluding that civil forfeitures were not a type of fine.
klˈæɹᵻfˌaɪɪŋ wˈɛðɚ sˈiːʒɚz ʌv pɹˈɑːpɚɾi ɑːɹ kənsˈɪdɚd fˈaɪnz ɔːɹ pˈʌnɪʃmənts, hiː dᵻkɹˈiːd ðˌæɾə kɹˈɪmɪnəl fˈɔːɹfɪtʃɚ kʊd biː kənsˈɪdɚd æz bˈoʊθ ɐ tˈaɪp ʌv fˈaɪn ænd ɐ pˈʌnɪʃmənt, wˌaɪl ɐ sˈɪvəl fˈɔːɹfɪtʃɚ wʌz nˌɑːt ɪntˈɛndᵻd æz ɐ pˈʌnɪʃmənt əvə pˈɜːsən bˌʌt ɹˈæðɚɹ ˈeɪ "lˈiːɡəl fˈɪkʃən ʌv pˈʌnɪʃɪŋ ðə pɹˈɑːpɚɾi", kəŋklˈuːdɪŋ ðæt sˈɪvəl fˈɔːɹfɪtʃɚz wɜː nˌɑːɾə tˈaɪp ʌv fˈaɪn.