Hugo Black

“ Even if § 2463 could somehow be construed as transferring custody of property seized by revenue officers into the hands of officers of the federal courts it would by no means follow that cases and controversies involving ownership of that property should be tried in summary fashion. It is true that courts have sometimes passed on ownership of property in their custody without a plenary proceeding where, for illustration, such a proceeding was ancillary to a pending action or where property was held in the custody of court officers, subject to court orders and court discipline. ”

“ Summary trial of controversies over property and property rights is the exception in our method of administering justice. Supplementing the constitutional, statutory, and common-law requirements for the adjudication of cases or controversies, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A., provide the normal course for beginning, conducting, and determining controversies. ”

“ Casino, D.C., 286 F. 976, at pages 978-979: 'It is clear that the owner of property unlawfully seized has without statute no summary remedy for a return of his property. * * * He may have trespass, or, if there be no statute to the contrary, replevin; but, just as in our law no public officer has any official protection, so no individual has exceptional remedies for abuse of power by such officers. ”