The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday against two Alabama women who were seeking immediate hearings to reclaim cars that were seized in crimes they didn’t commit. In a 6-3 decision, the court said the Due Process Clause requires a timely forfeiture hearing but doesn’t require a separate preliminary hearing, Bloomberg Law reports. Halima Culley and Lena Sutton brought class action suits against the state and their local governments for allegedly violating their due process rights by not providing prompt hearings after their cars were seized.
Culley’s 2015 Nissan Altima, driven by her son, was taken by the city of Satsuma when police pulled him over and found marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a loaded 9-millimeter pistol in the car. Lena Sutton’s friend was driving her 2012 Chevrolet Sonic when police pulled him over for speeding and found a large amount of methamphetamine in the car. "Our decision today does not preclude ... legislatively prescribed innovations," wrote Justice Brett Kavanaugh for the majority "Rather, our decision simply addresses the baseline protection of the Due Process Clause." In a dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the court's ruling "sweeps far more broadly than the narrow question presented and hamstrings lower courts from addressing myriad abuses of the civil forfeiture system."