United States v. Any & All Radio Station Transmission Equipment

OPINION

RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge.

The principal question presented by these consolidated appeals is whether, under the doctrine of primary jurisdiction, district courts may decline to adjudicate in rem forfeiture actions brought by the United States against persons who operate radio stations without licenses. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the answer is no. We therefore REVERSE the judgment of the district court in No. 98-2129 (Strawcutter), which dismissed the government’s forfeiture case sua sponte pursuant to the doctrine of primary jurisdiction, and REMAND the…