forfeiture
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 302 U.S. 284 - Texas v. Donoghue · 1937Most cited · 79 citing opinions
as penalty
Forfeiture of unlawful oil under Texas law is a penalty imposed to vindicate the State's policy of conservation.
How the Supreme Court has restated “forfeiture”
Each Supreme Court definition of “forfeiture,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “forfeiture”
Court decisions citing the 7 opinions that defined “forfeiture” — 372 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 7 definitions, chronological · 1808–1937
- ORIGINAL
The court is also of opinion, that the removal for which the act punishes the owner with a forfeiture of the goods must be made with his consent or connivance, or with that of some person employed or trusted by him. If, by private theft, or open robbery, without any fault on his part, his property should be invaded, while in the custody of the officer of the revenue, the law cannot be understood to punish him with the forfeiture of that property.
requires owner's consent or connivance
As a Court of Chancery is not the proper tribunal for enforcing forfeitures, no decree for the purpose of effecting that object, ought to have been made.
chancery will not enforce
A forfeiture is against the will of the owner. Where property is conveyed under a fair contract and for a valuable consideration, is not the term forfeited misapplied, if such conveyance be held valid?
The general principle is undisputed, that the division of an empire works no forfeiture of a right of property previously acquired.
the statute regarded the consent of the owner to the employment of his property in aid of the rebellion as an offence, and inflicted forfeiture as a penalty
Equity never, under any circumstances, lends its aid to enforce a forfeiture or penalty, or anything in the nature of either.