Hernandez v. United States

OPINION AND ORDER

SCHEINDLIN, District Judge.

This opinion represents the final stop on a twisted journey through the netherworld of administrative forfeiture. In 1992, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) seized plaintiff Felix Hernandez’s car in connection with his arrest on federal narcotics charges. Three years later, the DEA and United States Attorney’s Office notified Hernandez that they were declining to prosecute a judicial forfeiture proceeding and were returning the car to him. The twist is that, during those three years, the DEA added the car to its fleet and drove it more…