The question
Whether a district court's failure to enter a preliminary order of forfeiture before sentencing, as required by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(b)(2)(B), bars the court from ordering forfeiture at sentencing.
McIntosh v. United States
What the Court decided
Affirmed. A district court may still order forfeiture at sentencing even when it fails to enter a preliminary order of forfeiture beforehand as Rule 32.2(b)(2)(B) directs, and any noncompliance is reviewed for harmless error on appeal. The Court held that Rule 32.2(b)(2)(B) is a time-related directive rather than a mandatory claim-processing rule, so missing its deadline does not strip the court of the power to order forfeiture.
How the justices split
UnanimousThe Court's opinion
Sotomayor, writing alone
Rule 32.2(b)(2)(B) is a time-related directive, not a mandatory claim-processing rule. A directive of this kind seeks speed by telling a public official to act by a certain time, and missing it does not deprive the official of the power to take the action to which the deadline applies. Following Dolan v. United States, the Court concluded that a district court that fails to enter a preliminary order of forfeiture before sentencing retains its power to order forfeiture, with noncompliance reviewed under harmless-error principles on appeal rather than presumed prejudicial.
How we know · 5 sourced claims
A district court's failure to enter a preliminary order of forfeiture before sentencing under Rule 32.2(b)(2)(B) does not bar the court from ordering forfeiture at sentencing.
Source: syllabus, Held
Noncompliance with Rule 32.2(b)(2)(B) is subject to harmless-error principles on appellate review.
Source: syllabus, Held
The Court held that Rule 32.2(b)(2)(B) is a time-related directive rather than a mandatory claim-processing rule.
Source: syllabus, Held
Following Dolan v. United States, a sentencing court that misses such a deadline retains the power to act.
Source: syllabus, Held
Justice Sotomayor delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.
Source: syllabus, lineup