United States v. Guy Jerome Ursery

Decided June 24, 1996. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 95-345 · 518 U.S. 267 (1996) · Cited 1,314 times

Holding

In rem civil forfeitures are neither “punishment” nor criminal for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• United States v. Halper · 490 U.S. 435 (1989)
• Austin v. United States · 509 U.S. 602 (1993)
• Department of Revenue of Mont. v. Kurth Ranch · 511 U.S. 767 (1994)
• United States v. One Assortment of 89 Firearms · 465 U.S. 354 (1984)
• One Lot Emerald Cut Stones and One Ring v. United States · 409 U.S. 232 (1972)
• Boyd v. United States · 116 U.S. 616 (1886)
• Various Items of Personal Property v. United States · 282 U.S. 577 (1931)
• United States v. Ward · 448 U.S. 242 (1980)
• Bennis v. Michigan · 516 U.S. 442 (1996)
• One 1958 Plymouth Sedan v. Pennsylvania · 380 U.S. 693 (1965)
• United States v. United States Coin & Currency · 401 U.S. 715 (1971)
• Blockburger v. United States · 284 U.S. 299 (1931)
• Calero-Toledo v. Pearson Yacht Leasing Co. · 416 U.S. 663 (1974)
• The Palmyra · 25 U.S. 1 (1827)
• Helvering v. Mitchell · 303 U.S. 391 (1938)
• United States Ex Rel. Marcus v. Hess · 317 U.S. 537 (1943)
• Libretti v. United States · 516 U.S. 29 (1995)
• Rex Trailer Co. v. United States · 350 U.S. 148 (1956)
• United States v. James Daniel Good Real Property · 510 U.S. 43 (1993)
• J. W. Goldsmith, Jr.-Grant Co. v. United States · 254 U.S. 505 (1921)
• United States v. La Franca · 282 U.S. 568 (1931)
• Bell v. Wolfish · 441 U.S. 520 (1979)
• North Carolina v. Pearce · 395 U.S. 711 (1969)
• United States v. Dixon · 509 U.S. 688 (1993)
• Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez · 372 U.S. 144 (1963)
• Illinois v. Vitale · 447 U.S. 410 (1980)
• Browning-Ferris Industries of Vermont, Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc. · 492 U.S. 257 (1989)
• Gore v. United States · 357 U.S. 386 (1958)
• Witte v. United States · 515 U.S. 389 (1995)
• United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. · 299 U.S. 304 (1936)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Hudson v. United States · 522 U.S. 93 (1997)
• Smith v. Doe · 538 U.S. 84 (2003)
• United States v. Bajakajian · 524 U.S. 321 (1998)
• Kansas v. Hendricks · 521 U.S. 346 (1997)
• Culley v. Marshall · 601 U.S. 377 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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William Hubbs Rehnquist’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1996). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).