Supreme Court Asks: Can States Impose Excessive Fines?

Can a state impose any fine, no matter how outrageous?

Or does the U.S. Constitution prohibit states and local governments from imposing excessive fines, fees and forfeitures, just as it prohibits the federal government from doing so?

These questions will soon be answered when the U.S. Supreme Court hears Timbs v. Indiana, a case litigated by the Institute for Justice. The case will have nationwide implications because it raises an unsettled question of constitutional law: Whether the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause applies to state and local authorities. The answer to this question has serious implications because more and more state and local governments are imposing fines and fees as a means to fund themselves.

https://ij.org/case/timbs-v-indiana/
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