Melba L. Ford v. United States
DueProcess
Does a defendant in an IRS/DoJ civil forfeiture proceeding have a constitutionally protected, due process right to counsel?
No question identified. : THREE QUESTIONS of FIRST IMPRESSION PRESENTED FOR REVIEW Question 1. Does a defendant in an IRS/DoJ civil forfeiture proceeding have a constitutionally protected, due process right to counsel? Question 2. Even if there is no constitutional right to counsel for defendants in a civil forfeiture case, when assistance of counsel is sought by unrepresented litigants who cannot afford it, is a court required to provide factual and legal reasons when denying such motion? Question 3. When a circuit panel denies motions for , assistance of counsel without providing a scintilla of justification, then blocks reconsideration and appeal to the en banc circuit, does the panel violate litigants’ rights to due process of law? i