Supreme Court Applies Constitutional Ban on Excessive Fines to States

Supreme Court Applies Constitutional Ban on Excessive Fines to States
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on Nov. 30, 2018. MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Matthew Vadum
Matthew Vadum
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In a major victory for limited-government advocates, the Supreme Court unanimously found that a constitutional ban on excessive fines that Indiana had argued applies only to the federal government applies to all U.S. states.

Civil libertarians have long complained that asset forfeitures arising from criminal convictions and cases in which a person is merely suspected of a crime can be arbitrary and excessive.