Supreme Court Rules 9-0 That 8th Amendment Applies to Civil Seizures
The court just ruled that the 8th Amendment protections against excessive fines and fees are incorporated to the states. The decision is here:
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/17-1091_5536.pdf
the fact that it is unanimous is significant. This decision gives citizens a tremendous weapon against civil seizure. And apparently cases are already lined up in various state courts in anticipation of this decision.
Reportedly the high point of the hearing was when Justice Breyer got the Indiana Solicitor General to admit that under his logic, a driver’s car could be seized for exceeding the limit by 5 mph.
see: https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/02/...sive-fines-applies-to-the-states/#more-279586
and if you read Washington post--https://www.washingtonpost.com/
The question was brought up about large amounts of cash the cops take without ever filing charges, as this ruling is specifically about "fines".
I don't read the post--paywall, so there may be more there.
The NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/...tion=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage says: WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the Constitution places limits on the ability of states and localities to take and keep cash, cars, houses and other private property used to commit crimes.
So, it appears that carrying large amounts of cash is still probably not a good or safe thing...
The court just ruled that the 8th Amendment protections against excessive fines and fees are incorporated to the states. The decision is here:
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/17-1091_5536.pdf
the fact that it is unanimous is significant. This decision gives citizens a tremendous weapon against civil seizure. And apparently cases are already lined up in various state courts in anticipation of this decision.
Reportedly the high point of the hearing was when Justice Breyer got the Indiana Solicitor General to admit that under his logic, a driver’s car could be seized for exceeding the limit by 5 mph.
see: https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/02/...sive-fines-applies-to-the-states/#more-279586
and if you read Washington post--https://www.washingtonpost.com/
The question was brought up about large amounts of cash the cops take without ever filing charges, as this ruling is specifically about "fines".
I don't read the post--paywall, so there may be more there.
The NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/20/...tion=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage says: WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the Constitution places limits on the ability of states and localities to take and keep cash, cars, houses and other private property used to commit crimes.
So, it appears that carrying large amounts of cash is still probably not a good or safe thing...
