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.
136 Articles
136 Articles
Supreme Court Hears Alaska Pilot's $95K Plane Seizure Case
The justices agreed to hear an Eighth Amendment challenge from an Alaskan bush pilot who lost his $95,000 airplane after state troopers found a passenger's six-pack of beer aboard a flight headed to a village where alcohol is banned. Ken Jouppi has spent more than fourteen years fighting the State of Alaska over what may be one of the most lopsided forfeitures in recent memory. A trial judge convicted him, handed down three days in prison and a …
Ken Jouppi's plane sat in state custody for over a decade, and now the Supreme Court will decide if seizing it went too far
Ken Jouppi has spent 14 years fighting to keep his airplane after a passenger carried beer onto one of his flights, and the case is now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Alaska bush pilot was flying a passenger and her groceries from Fairbanks to the dry village of Beaver on April 3, 2012, when state troopers searched the plane and found three cases of beer hidden in her luggage. As detailed by Dexerto, Jouppi maintained that he had no knowl…
A Remote Alaska Village, a Small Aircraft, and a Few Cases of Beer
Fourteen years ago, the state of Alaska tried to seize a man’s $95,000 small airplane because one of his passengers tried to bring beer into a dry village. Now the Supreme Court will use his case to further clarify the scope of the excessive fines Clause.The justices announced on Monday that they would hear Jouppi v. Alaska next term, giving them a rare opportunity to expand upon of one of the Eighth Amendment’s most overlooked provisions. The c…
Alabama Live
6-pack of beer center of latest Supreme Court case
For more than a decade a pilot, now in his 80s, has contended that the state of Alaska has been trying to permanently seize his airplane after he transported a passenger carrying a six-pack of beer.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 66% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
