Dissent Kennedy | End date 1996 | |
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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 Majority Rehnquist, joined by O'Connor, Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg Dissent Stevens, joined by Souter, Breyer Similar United States v Bajakajian, Tahoe‑Sierra Preservation Council - I, Lucas v South Carolina, BMW of North America - I, Penn Central Transport | ||
Bennis v. Michigan, 516 U.S. 442 (1996), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court, which held that the 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 despite her lack of knowledge of her husband's activity. The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed but was, in turn, reversed by the Michigan Supreme Court, which concluded, among other things, that Michigan's failure to provide an innocent-owner defense was without federal constitutional consequence under this Court's decisions.