I admit, I have a tiny soft spot for asset forfeiture cases because I find their captions amusing—i.e.  "United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins" or "State of Texas v. 12 Gold Coins." 

But there's nothing funny about State of North Dakota v. 2003 Chevrolet Silverado (OK well except possibly the name).

Working pro bono, Kirkland & Ellis partner Craig Primis and associate Michael Francus succeeded in getting Aaron Dorn his truck back after it was wrongly seized by the state. 

On Thanksgiving Day of 2016, Dorn was driving in a convoy of Dakota Access Pipeline protestors. North Dakota police accused him of driving at them and swerving into their lane. Dorn was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, obstruction of a government function and resisting arrest. 

He was exonerated on all the charges—but the state refused to return his truck. 

In recent years, multiple media outlets have shined a spotlight on asset forfeiture abuses, where states or the federal government have confiscated private property without basic due process, insisting that it's been involved in a crime. If the property is wrongly seized, many victims find they have little recourse.

But most victims don't have Kirkland & Ellis in their corner. 

The firm got involved after Francus, a litigation associate who earned his law degree in 2017 from Stanford, got wind of the case. "He is passionate about property rights and forfeiture laws, and the forfeiture of Aaron Dorn's truck struck Michael not only as wrong but as unconstitutional," Primis said in an email. 

With approval from the firm, Francus reached out Dorn and offered to take on his case pro bono.

It's something of a mini-trend—this is the second case I've written about of late where a Kirkland associate initiated a pro bono representation to combat law enforcement overreach. The firm's work on behalf of a Kansas family that was subject to a SWAT-style drug raid based on a visit to a garden store and drinking loose-leaf tea (seriously, that was it) was also sparked by an associate.

Working with local counsel Mark Friese of the Vogel Law Firm, Francus and Primis convinced a Morton County, North Dakota judge to order the truck's return. On Friday, Dorn was finally able to drive it home.

This was not a case with a lot of money at stake—or at least not a lot of money by typical Kirkland client standards. The Kelley Blue Book value for a 2003 Silverado ranges from $3,800 to $6,300.

But the principle—that was huge.

Primis called the case "an important step in ensuring that states do not cavalierly seize people's property under absurdly low burdens of proof that stack the deck against defendants, particularly ones with limited means like Aaron Dorn."

North Dakota, Primis continued, "had one of the most aggressive civil asset forfeiture laws in the country. To seize an individual's property, the state needed only to show that it had 'probable cause' to believe the property was used in a crime. That is about as low a burden of proof a state can have, and we believed it to be unconstitutionally low."

The case has had a wider impact, spurring a movement in North Dakota to reform the state's forfeiture laws, culminating in new legislation this year that greatly increased protections for defendants in forfeiture cases.

Primis said the case sends two messages. "The first is that states need to ensure that their forfeiture laws do not make it so easy for the state to seize property that they violate basic due process protections," he said. "The second is that individuals can fight back against state overreach like this, and there are talented young attorneys like Michael Francus who are ready to take on their cases pro bono and can deliver outstanding results."