'Excessive fines' ban applies to states, Supreme Court says

Ruling could help rein in police seizures from criminal suspects

Visitors wait to enter the Supreme Court as a winter snow storm hits the nation's capital making roads perilous and closing most Federal offices and all major public school districts, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday. The Supreme Court is ruling unanimously that the Constitution's ban on excessive fines applies to the states. The outcome Wednesday could help an Indiana man recover the $40,000 Land Rover police seized when they arrested him for selling about $400 worth of heroin. - photo by Associated Press

supreme court.jpg — Visitors wait to enter the Supreme Court as a winter snow storm hits the nation's capital making roads perilous and closing most Federal offices and all major public school districts, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday. The Supreme Court is ruling unanimously that the Constitution's ban on excessive fines applies to the states. The outcome Wednesday could help an Indiana man recover the $40,000 Land Rover police seized when they arrested him for selling about $400 worth of heroin. - photo by Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Tyson Timbs admitted he'd sold drugs, and he accepted his sentence without a fight. What he wouldn't quietly accept was the police seizing and keeping the $40,000 Land Rover he'd had when arrested. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court sided with him unanimously in ruling the Constitution's ban on excessive fines applies to the states as well as the federal government.

Associated Press

Associated Press