40
Opinion of the Court
Clause. 509 U. S., at 619-622. Libretti himself conceded below that criminal forfeiture "is a part of the sentence, not a part of the substantive offense." 38 F. 3d, at 528.
It is true, as Libretti points out, that we said in Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered v. United States, 491 U. S. 617 (1989), that "forfeiture is a substantive charge in the indictment against a defendant." Id., at 628, n. 5. That statement responded to the defendant's claim that his Sixth Amendment right to counsel "for his defense" could be transformed into a defense to a forfeiture count in the indictment. We intended only to suggest that a defendant cannot escape an otherwise appropriate forfeiture sanction by pointing to his need for counsel to represent him on the underlying charges. Elsewhere in that opinion we recognized that forfeiture is a "criminal sanction," id., at 634, and is imposed as a sentence under § 853, id., at 620, n. 1.
Libretti nonetheless insists that the criminal forfeiture for which § 853 provides is not "simply" an aspect of sentencing, but is, in essence, a hybrid that shares elements of both a substantive charge and a punishment imposed for criminal activity. In support of this contention, Libretti points to three Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure that, according to him, treat forfeiture as a substantive criminal charge. Rule 7(c)(2) provides that "[n]o judgment of forfeiture may be entered in a criminal proceeding unless the indictment or the information shall allege the extent of the interest or property subject to forfeiture." If the indictment or information alleges that a defendant's property is subject to forfeiture, "a special verdict shall be returned as to the extent of the interest or property subject to forfeiture, if any." Fed. Rule Crim. Proc. 31(e). And a finding of forfeitability must be embodied in a judgment. Fed. Rule Crim. Proc. 32(d)(2) ("When a verdict contains a finding of criminal forfeiture, the judgment must authorize the Attorney General to seize the interest or property subject to forfeiture on terms that the court considers proper").
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