The issue focused on whether state law enforcement officials were permitted to search federal property for criminal evidence. For years, Justice Department lawyers have argued that Congress had given them legal authority to use civil asset forfeiture laws to seize federal property in such cases.

In court papers filed last month, prosecutors said they could only carry out the federal law by judicial order. But courts have allowed police officers to take federal property under certain circumstances. In some cases, police can simply return it to its owner.

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