United States v. Ursery, 518 U.S. 267, 38 (1996)

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304

UNITED STATES v. URSERY

Opinion of Stevens, J.

ceeding to forfeit an automobile used to transport illegally manufactured liquor. 380 U. S., at 700.

Even more significant is United States v. United States Coin & Currency, 401 U. S. 715 (1971), in which the Court again held that the Fifth Amendment applied to forfeiture proceedings. Coin & Currency involved the confiscation of gambling money under a statute, quite similar to 21 U. S. C. § 881, providing that " '[i]t shall be unlawful to have or possess any property intended for use in violating the provisions of the internal revenue laws . . . and no property rights shall exist in any such property.' " 401 U. S., at 716 (quoting 26 U. S. C. § 7302). The Court held that the Fifth Amendment barred the Government's attempt to introduce evidence of the defendant's failure to file required tax forms against him in the forfeiture proceeding. Following Boyd, the Court explained that the form of the proceeding as civil or criminal could not have any bearing on the rights that attached when the sanction was a penalty. "From the relevant constitutional standpoint, there is no difference between a man who 'forfeits' $8,674 because he has used the money in illegal gambling activities and a man who pays a 'criminal fine' of $8,674 as a result of the same course of conduct." 401 U. S., at 718. In each case, the Court reasoned, the liability derives from the same offense of the owner; hence, "the Fifth Amendment applies with equal force." Ibid.

Emerald Cut Stones expressly recognized the continuing validity of Coin & Currency and One 1958 Plymouth Sedan. It distinguished the customs statute in that case because the forfeiture did not depend on the fact of a criminal offense or conviction. See 409 U. S., at 236, n. 6. See also United States v. Ward, 448 U. S. 242, 254 (1980) (discussing Boyd). That recognition is critical. For whatever its connection to the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment, the Double Jeopardy Clause is part of the same Amendment as the Self-Incrimination Clause, and ought to be interpreted

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