Cite as: 524 U. S. 321 (1998)
Opinion of the Court
malum in se. . . . [T]he practice has been, and so this Court understand the law to be, that the proceeding in rem stands independent of, and wholly unaffected by any criminal proceeding in personam." The Palmyra, 12 Wheat., at 14-15.
Traditional in rem forfeitures were thus not considered punishment against the individual for an offense. See id., at 14; Dobbins's Distillery v. United States, supra, at 401; Van Oster v. Kansas, 272 U. S. 465, 467-468 (1926); Calero-Toledo v. Pearson Yacht Leasing Co., 416 U. S. 663, 683-684 (1974); Taylor v. United States, 3 How. 197, 210 (1845) (opinion of Story, J.) (laws providing for in rem forfeiture of goods imported in violation of customs laws, although in one sense "imposing a penalty or forfeiture[,] . . . truly deserve to be called, remedial"); see also United States v. Ursery, 518 U. S. 267, 293 (1996) (Kennedy, J., concurring) ("[C]ivil in rem forfeiture is not punishment of the wrongdoer for his criminal offense"). Because they were viewed as nonpunitive, such forfeitures traditionally were considered to occupy a place outside the domain of the Excessive Fines Clause. Recognizing the nonpunitive character of such proceedings, we have held that the Double Jeopardy Clause does not bar the institution of a civil, in rem forfeiture action after the criminal conviction of the defendant. See id., at 278.6
The forfeiture in this case does not bear any of the hallmarks of traditional civil in rem forfeitures. The Govern-6 It does not follow, of course, that all modern civil in rem forfeitures are nonpunitive and thus beyond the coverage of the Excessive Fines Clause. Because some recent federal forfeiture laws have blurred the traditional distinction between civil in rem and criminal in personam forfeiture, we have held that a modern statutory forfeiture is a "fine" for Eighth Amendment purposes if it constitutes punishment even in part, regardless of whether the proceeding is styled in rem or in personam. See Austin v. United States, supra, at 621-622 (although labeled in rem, civil forfeiture of real property used "to facilitate" the commission of drug crimes was punitive in part and thus subject to review under the Excessive Fines Clause).
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