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Supreme Court curbs power of government to impose heavy fines and seize property
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled to drastically curb the powers that states and cities have to levy fines and seize property, marking the first time the court has applied the Constitution's ban on excessive fines at the state level.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who returned to the court for the first time in almost two months after undergoing surgery for lung cancer, wrote the majority opinion in the case involving an Indiana man who had his Land Rover seized after he was arrested for selling $385 of heroin.
"Protection against excessive fines has been a constant shield throughout Anglo-American history for good reason: Such fines undermine other liberties," Ginsburg wrote. "They can be used, e.g., to retaliate against or chill the speech of political enemies. They can also be employed, not in service of penal purposes, but as a source of revenue."
Also at National Review, SCOTUSblog, and NPR.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 21 2019, @09:44AM (1 child)
I don't know why all the cheering.
Fair or unfair, if the local councils can't get rich by taking money from some citizens, they'll need to get rich by taking from all citizen. As sure as death and taxes.
Wake me up after you abolish local councils.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 21 2019, @02:42PM
I think proper taxing is better than disproportionate taxing for two reasons:
1) the "it wont happen to me" effect, where money can be spent because only "those" people will have to pay
2) you are no longer dropping random people into abject poverty and thus increasing crime.