The Price of a Pint: When Excessive Fines Clash with Constitutional Rights The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to the seizure of an aircraft worth $95,000 from Alaska pilot Kenneth Jouppi.
At stake is not only whether Jouppi can fly his 1969 Cessna again but also whether the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines Clause applies in this case.
Jouppi's conviction for transporting a six pack of beer into a dry community led to the seizure of his plane under Alaska's criminal forfeiture laws.