Aldrich L. Boss, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Stewart R. Crane v. United States, et al.

Whether the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause permits the establishment of a new category of property for forfeiture purposes in the form of a perpetual “public record,” thereby, allowing the Government to seize the Letter from Alexander Hamilton to the Marquis De Lafayette Dated July 21, 1780 (“Hamilton Letter”), after said Hamilton Letter was no longer possessed by any governmental entity, without any evidence produced or demonstrating the Hamilton Letter was ever stolen, to avoid standing of the Petitioners. Whether the innocent owner defense should have applied since Petitioners held the Hamilton Letter through a bona fide purchaser for value.