(The Hill) – On Monday, the Supreme Court announced it would hear the case of an Alaskan pilot contesting the state’s attempt to seize his vintage 1969 Cessna airplane. The issue arose after a passenger tried to bring a six-pack of Budweiser aboard his flight into a prohibition-enforced village.
Ken Jouppi, the pilot in question, declares he was unaware of the alcohol and believes that losing his aircraft amounts to an excessive fine, which he argues is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.
Jouppi insists he respected Alaska’s dry village laws and would never knowingly breach them. He states the beer was hidden within the passenger’s luggage, and he doesn’t conduct luggage inspections prior to departure.
After Alaska’s highest court upheld the decision for forfeiture, Jouppi turned to the Supreme Court. According to legal documents, the airplane has an estimated value of about $95,000.
Jouppi maintains that the Eighth Amendment’s safeguard against disproportionate fines was “designed for situations precisely like this.”
“No matter that the offense is a misdemeanor. As here. No matter that the pilot is a first-time offender. As here. No matter that the alcohol is a six-pack of Budweiser. As here. No matter that it belonged to a customer. As here,” Jouppi’s lawyers wrote in their petition.
“The result: an airplane forfeited for a six-pack.”
Jouppi is represented by the libertarian Institute for Justice, which regularly petitions the Supreme Court to take up forfeiture and other cases it sees as government abuse.
The battle is set to be heard during the Supreme Court’s next term, which begins in October. A decision is likely by next summer.
The case stems from an April 3, 2012, flight that Jouppi was scheduled to run for a passenger from Fairbanks to Beaver.
Beaver, a remote area located just over 100 miles to the north, is a dry village. Alaska law makes it a state crime to “knowingly send, transport, or bring an alcoholic beverage” there, and vehicles involved are subject to forfeiture.
As the pilot was loading the plane, state troopers arrived on scene and discovered the beer, court documents show.
Jouppi was sentenced to three days’ imprisonment and a $1,500 fine. At issue now is Alaska’s bid to seize his Cessna aircraft under the statute.
In urging the Supreme Court to turn away Jouppi’s appeal, the state emphasized its “unique difficulties” in combatting alcohol abuse. Noting some Alaskan villages are primarily accessible by air, the state likened its seizure of planes to a long history of the government seizing ships in criminal prosecutions.
“Many remote communities in Alaska have limited law enforcement resources to respond to, for example, alcohol-fueled domestic violence. They also lack the public health resources to address other problems associated with alcohol abuse,” Alaska wrote in court filings.