Bennis v. Michigan
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 29, 1995 Decided March 4, 1996
Full case name	Tina B. Bennis v. Michigan
Citations	516 U.S. 442 (more) 116 S. Ct. 994
Prior history	Certiorari to the Supreme Court of Michigan
Holding
The forfeiture order did not offend the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment or the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
Majority	Rehnquist, joined by O'Connor, Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg
Dissent	Stevens, joined by Souter, Breyer
Dissent	Kennedy

Bennis v. Michigan, 516 U.S. 442 (1996), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court, which held that innocent owner defense is not constitutionally mandated by Fourteenth Amendment Due Process in cases of civil forfeiture.

Tina B. Bennis was a joint owner, with her husband, of an automobile in which her husband engaged in sexual activity with a prostitute. In declaring the automobile forfeit as a public nuisance under Michigan's statutory abatement scheme, the trial court permitted no offset for petitioner's interest, notwithstanding her lack of knowledge of her husband's activity. The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed, but was in turn reversed by the State Supreme Court, which concluded, inter alia, that Michigan's failure to provide an innocent-owner defense was without federal constitutional consequence under this Court's decisions.

Contents 1 See also 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External links

[edit] See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 516
• List of United States Supreme Court cases
• Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
• List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Beatty, M. E. (1996). "Bennis v. Michigan: The Supreme Court Clings to Precedent and Denies Innocent Owners a Defense to Forfeiture". Mercer Law Review 48: 1265. ISSN 0025987X. 
• Ingram, R. T. (1996). "The Crime of Property: Bennis v. Michigan and the Excessive Fines Clause". Denver University Law Review 74: 293. ISSN 08839409. 
• Levy, Robert A.; Mellor, William H. (2008). "Asset Forfeiture Without Due Process". The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom. New York: Sentinel. pp. 143–154. ISBN 9781595230508. 

[edit] External links

Text of Bennis v. Michigan is available from:  · Enfacto · Findlaw · Justia · Cornell

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