U.S. Supreme Court to hear Alaska plane confiscation case
The justices will weigh whether forfeiting a $95,000 Cessna over a six-pack of beer is an excessive fine, Jouppi’s lawyer said.
- On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Ken Jouppi's challenge regarding the seizure of his $95,000 Cessna U206D plane, which he argues constitutes an unconstitutionally excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment.
- Alaska authorities seized the plane after Jouppi attempted to fly a passenger carrying beer into Beaver, a remote village where alcohol is banned more than two decades ago. Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox cited the state's "unique difficulties in combating alcohol abuse."
- Jouppi, a bush pilot in his 80s, has fought the case for over a decade after the Alaska Supreme Court previously upheld the forfeiture, ruling it did not violate the Excessive Fines Clause.
- Institute for Justice attorney Sam Gedge, representing Jouppi, argued the Excessive Fines Clause "was built for cases like this" and called it vital that the Supreme Court clarify the clause to curb government overreach in forfeitures.
- The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments later this year or early next, with a decision expected by next summer. The ruling could establish precedent for how the Constitution limits state seizure powers.
100 Articles
100 Articles
Alaska Pilot's $95,000 Plane Seized Over a Six-Pack Forces Supreme Court To Confront Excessive Fines
The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide whether Alaska can keep an 82-year-old bush pilot's $95,000 (£70,700) plane over a passenger's six-pack of beer, a dispute that could curb government seizures of property nationwide. Kenneth Jouppi has spent 14 years fighting the state's attempt to forfeit his 1969 Cessna after troopers found beer packed in a passenger's groceries before an April 2012 flight from Fairbanks to Beaver, a dry village …
SCOTUS Takes Case of Pilot Who Lost Plane Over 6-Pack
The Supreme Court is about to decide whether a six-pack of Budweiser is enough to cost an Alaska bush pilot his plane. The justices on Monday agreed to hear the case of Ken Jouppi, whose 1969 Cessna—valued at about $95,000—faces forfeiture after troopers in 2012 found beer...
Alaska wants to seize pilot’s plane over 6-pack of beer. The case is heading to the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court will review a case where Alaskan authorities are trying to illegally seize bush pilot Kenneth Jouppi's $95,000 airplane after a passenger brought a six-pack of beer on a 2012 flight to a dry village.
Alaska bush pilot asks Supreme Court to overturn plane confiscation
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from Kenneth Jouppi, an 82-year-old Alaska bush pilot whose aircraft was confiscated after authorities found beer on board before a flight to a dry...
Supreme Court to Decide If Plane Can Be Seized Over 6-Pack of Beer
The U.S. Supreme Court on July 20 agreed to hear the appeal of an Alaska pilot whose small airplane was seized for attempting to haul beer into a so-called dry jurisdiction where alcohol is banned. The court’s decision in Jouppi v. Alaska took the form of an unsigned order. No justices dissented. The court did not explain its decision. The aircraft was subject to a legal process known as civil asset forfeiture, under which property, including a …
One six-pack of beer could significantly alter how the Constitution regulates law enforcement
The Supreme Court granted an appeal to an Alaska man whose plane was seized over a six-pack of beer, setting up a major civil asset forfeiture case under the 8th Amendment.
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