Supreme Court Limits Asset Forfeiture, Rules Excessive Fines Apply to States : NPR
“Forfeiture of the Land Rover, the court determined, would be grossly disproportionate to the gravity of Timbs’s offense,” Ginsburg wrote.
She also noted that the ban on excessive fines was added to the Bill of Rights for the purpose of protecting individual liberty. “Protection against excessive fines has been a constant shield throughout Anglo-American history for good reason: Such fines undermine other liberties.”
She noted that those fines could be used to retaliate against political enemies and have been used as a source of revenue.
The ruling effectively means states and local municipalities cannot use fines as a mechanism for raising revenue, something many local governments do.
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