# Alaska’s Bid to Seize a $95,000 Plane Over a $1,500 Fine Is Excessive and Unconstitutional 

The Eighth Amendment was designed to prevent this kind of abuse.

September 14, 2026 • News Releases 

An 83-year-old Alaskan man, Ken Jouppi, was convicted of a misdemeanor, sentenced to the minimum of three days in jail, and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine for flying a passenger who had packed alcohol in her bag to a dry municipality. Since then, the state of Alaska has spent decades trying to forfeit his $95,000 plane, a fight Jouppi has fought for years to stop. The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

Scholars at the Cato Institute, along with the Fines and Fees Justice Center, filed an [amicus brief](https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://zwly9k6z.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:*2F*2Fwww.cato.org*2Flegal-briefs*2Fjouppi-v-alaska/1/010001a0a0456949-1254912e-acf1-45f9-89ab-3c26cfbbad72-000000/FpYH5nk-xwnzQd8nWSH9KqXYsKU=473___.YXAzOmNhdG9pbnN0aXR1dGU6YTpvOmVlMGZjOGRkY2E3MTQ5NThmNWE4N2ViZGE5NDdkOTBkOjc6NmZjZTo3MzE2NDMzMzlmMTNkN2QyY2VjMjdlMzBkMTc0ZjllYjljOWI1NmQyMDhlOGY2NGZiMmE1OGZlN2RkN2Q3NTQ3Omg6VDpO) arguing that this is an unconstitutional and excessive fine. [Matthew Cavedon](https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://zwly9k6z.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:*2F*2Fwww.cato.org*2Fpeople*2Fmatthew-cavedon/1/010001a0a0456949-1254912e-acf1-45f9-89ab-3c26cfbbad72-000000/ooA_0af04LxO7ZkJBtIiIyX93Yg=473___.YXAzOmNhdG9pbnN0aXR1dGU6YTpvOmVlMGZjOGRkY2E3MTQ5NThmNWE4N2ViZGE5NDdkOTBkOjc6MTBkOTo5NzNkZDVlOTc3ZTA2YmJkMDYwM2I2ODE5ZGRiZjAxZTMzOGYwNzYyZTViNjdiODRhMWQ0Njg2M2FiMWJiNjFlOmg6VDpO), director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice, writes in part:

> The Eighth Amendment was designed to prevent this kind of abuse. Long before the United States was founded, the common law protected people from extreme monetary penalties. The Framers understood the dangers of such abuse. But the Alaska Supreme Court’s view is that challenges to excessive fines ‘should rarely succeed.’ This dismissive view led it to conclude that there is nothing excessive about the forfeiture of an airplane worth ‘only 9.5 times the maximum fine’ — and over 60 times the fine actually imposed.

To speak with Cato scholars about *Jouppi v. Alaska*, contact Cato PR at [pr@​cato.​org](mailto:pr@cato.org).

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