United States v. Theodore John Kaczynski

This matter comes to us in the form of a request by convicted Unabomber Theodore John Kaczynski for the return of his papers and other property seized pursuant to a search of his Montana cabin in 1996. Kaczynski pled guilty to a series of coldly calculated bombings that resulted in the loss of innocent life and numerous life-altering injuries. The plea agreement that spared Kaczynski his own life includes a restitution order of some $15 million for the benefit of his victims and them families.

Kaczynski principally seeks the return of his writings, which he wishes to donate to the University of Michigan for inclusion in its collection of protest literature. Arguing that Kaczynski should not profit from his criminal notoriety, the government objected to return of the property, claiming that the property was, on the one hand, of negligible value and, on the other, nonetheless needed to satisfy the terms of Kaczynski’s restitution order. The government’s restitution plan, yet to be reduced to a detailed writing, seems to be: (1) to hold a private sale of Kaczynski’s property, (2) ascribe thereby a value to it, and then (3) deposit government (i.e., taxpayer) funds equal to that…