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Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-102

§2466 Fugitive Disentitlement

Title 28 › PART VI — PARTICULAR PROCEEDINGS › CHAPTER 163 — FINES, PENALTIES AND FORFEITURES › § 2466

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

A judge can stop a person from using federal courts to press a civil forfeiture claim or to join as a third party in a criminal forfeiture case. That can happen if the person, after learning a warrant or similar order was issued to arrest them, leaves the United States, refuses to come back to face the court, or otherwise dodges the court to avoid prosecution, and they are not being held in another place. If a company files the claim, the same rule can be used when a majority owner or the person filing for the company meets these conditions.

Full Legal Text

Title 28, §2466

Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A judicial officer may disallow a person from using the resources of the courts of the United States in furtherance of a claim in any related civil forfeiture action or a claim in third party proceedings in any related criminal forfeiture action upon a finding that such person—
(1)after notice or knowledge of the fact that a warrant or process has been issued for his apprehension, in order to avoid criminal prosecution—
(A)purposely leaves the jurisdiction of the United States;
(B)declines to enter or reenter the United States to submit to its jurisdiction; or
(C)otherwise evades the jurisdiction of the court in which a criminal case is pending against the person; and
(2)is not confined or held in custody in any other jurisdiction for commission of criminal conduct in that jurisdiction.
(b)Subsection (a) may be applied to a claim filed by a corporation if any majority shareholder, or individual filing the claim on behalf of the corporation is a person to whom subsection (a) applies.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2006—Pub. L. 109–177 directed amendment of directory language of Pub. L. 107–56, § 322, identical to amendment by Pub. L. 109–162. See below. Pub. L. 109–162 amended directory language of Pub. L. 107–56, § 322. See 2001 Amendment note below. 2001—Pub. L. 107–56, § 322, as amended by Pub. L. 109–162, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2006 Amendment Pub. L. 109–162, title XI, § 1171(c), Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3123, provided in part that the amendment made by section 1171(c) of Pub. L. 109–162 is effective Oct. 26, 2001.

Effective Date

Pub. L. 106–185, § 14(c), Apr. 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 219, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by this section [enacting this section] shall apply to any case pending on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Apr. 25, 2000].”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

28 U.S.C. § 2466

Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102