Columbus, OH – On Thursday, The Buckeye Institute filed its amicus brief in Jouppi v. Alaska, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to tell Alaska that seizing a plane over a six-pack of beer is the embodiment of an excessive fine that the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibits.

“For 14 years, the state of Alaska has been trying to seize Mr. Jouppi’s plane over a six-pack of beer,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. “A $95,000 plane, forfeited for a six-pack of Budweiser, exemplifies the type of financial incentives that are corrupting our criminal justice system.” 

In its brief, The Buckeye Institute notes that the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on excessive fines was necessary to protect against the government’s use of the criminal justice system to punish political rivals and raise revenue. The Buckeye Institute uses empirical research and analysis by economists and legal scholars over more than a quarter-century to demonstrate that civil asset forfeiture policies and their financial incentives encourage law enforcement to seize property to maximize revenue and that those policies disproportionately burden poor and minority communities, and those least able to protect their property rights. Despite the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on excessive fines, these forfeiture practices persist.

The Institute for Justice represents Ken Jouppi in Jouppi v. Alaska.

# # #