In Timbs v. Indiana (2019), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment is incorporated against state governments. It also ruled that asset forfeitures - confiscation of property that may have been used to facilitate commission of a crime - qualify as fines. But it gave little guidance on what exactly qualifies as "excessive." This lack of clarity stimulated all sorts of uncertainty and disagreement in lower state and federal courts.
Recently, the Court decided to hear the case of Jouppi v. Alaska. Jouppi is an Alaska "bush pilot," flying passengers to remote areas. In 2012, Alaska authorities caught him transporting a passenger who had 72 cans of beer with her, to a "dry" village where importation of alcohol is banned. State law criminalizes transportation of alcoholic beverages there.
