United States v. James Daniel Good Real Property, 510 U.S. 43, 12 (1993)

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54

UNITED STATES v. JAMES DANIEL GOOD REAL PROPERTY

Opinion of the Court

historic and continuing importance. Cf. United States v. Karo, 468 U. S. 705, 714-715 (1984); Payton v. New York, 445 U. S. 573, 590 (1980). The seizure deprived Good of valuable rights of ownership, including the right of sale, the right of occupancy, the right to unrestricted use and enjoyment, and the right to receive rents. All that the seizure left him, by the Government's own submission, was the right to bring a claim for the return of title at some unscheduled future hearing.

In Fuentes, we held that the loss of kitchen appliances and household furniture was significant enough to warrant a pre-deprivation hearing. 407 U. S., at 70-71. And in Connecticut v. Doehr, 501 U. S. 1 (1991), we held that a state statute authorizing prejudgment attachment of real estate without prior notice or hearing was unconstitutional, in the absence of extraordinary circumstances, even though the attachment did not interfere with the owner's use or possession and did not affect, as a general matter, rentals from existing leaseholds.

The seizure of a home produces a far greater deprivation than the loss of furniture, or even attachment. It gives the Government not only the right to prohibit sale, but also the right to evict occupants, to modify the property, to condition occupancy, to receive rents, and to supersede the owner in all rights pertaining to the use, possession, and enjoyment of the property.

The Government makes much of the fact that Good was renting his home to tenants, and contends that the tangible effect of the seizure was limited to taking the $900 a month he was due in rent. But even if this were the only deprivation at issue, it would not render the loss insignificant or unworthy of due process protection. The rent represents a significant portion of the exploitable economic value of Good's home. It cannot be classified as de minimis for purposes of procedural due process. In sum, the private

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