excessive fines
Penalties beyond reason
Excessive fines is a legal term for financial penalties disproportionate to the offense committed.
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution prohibits excessive fines alongside cruel and unusual punishment.
What counts as excessive depends on the severity of the crime and the defendant's ability to pay: The Supreme Court ruled the $200,000 forfeiture constituted an excessive fine for a minor drug offense.
- punitiveInflicting or intending penalty
- penaltiesPunishments for infractions
- cruelWillfully causing suffering
- disproportionateNot properly scaled
- bailCourt-set release payment
forfeiture · unconstitutional · unjust · extortion · court · traffic court · sentencing · shakedown · crushing · ruinous · tickets · citations · predatory · municipal · debtor · debtors prison · prison · impound
- rightscivil liberties, constitutional rights, right, rights, human rights
- punishmentsjail, prison, timeout, grounded, suspension
excessive, excess, excesses, excessively, excessiveness, exceed, exceeds, exceeded, exceeding