The government wants your stuff. Usually, they just take it. But the Supreme Court might finally put a leash on this racket. On Monday, the justices agreed to hear the case of Kenneth Jouppi. He is 82. He flies planes in Alaska. Or at least, he used to fly his $95,000 Cessna before the state decided a six-pack of beer was reason enough to pirate it.
It happened over a decade ago. Jouppi was loading up in Fairbanks, bound for Beaver, a tiny, isolated outpost of fewer than a hundred people. Beaver is dry. No booze allowed. State troopers searched the plane and found some Budweiser and Bud Light. Jouppi says the beer belonged to a passenger and was buried in grocery bags. The cops disagreed. One trooper even mocked the old man’s eyesight, claiming he’d have to be blind to miss it. They took the plane. Just like that.
Forfeiture is a goldmine. Local cops love it. They seize cars, cash, and homes, then use the loot to pad their own budgets. Jouppi was convicted of a misdemeanor. But losing a ninety-five-grand aircraft for a minor infraction? That is a different story. He argues it violates the Eighth Amendment. The Constitution bans excessive fines. This case fits the bill perfectly.
“I’m in my 80s now,” Jouppi said. He has been fighting this forever. He views it as a duty. His lawyers at the Institute for Justice agree. They argue that civil forfeiture has devolved into a government shakedown. If the 6-3 conservative court actually rules on the merits, it could cripple the state’s ability to strip citizens of their property without a fight.
Alaska defends the theft. They claim remote villages face brutal battles with alcohol abuse. Since you can only get to Beaver by air, the state legislature made planes fair game. If you fly suds into a dry town, they take your wings.
The high court has dodged this issue before. They recently let a Michigan family fight a county that sold their home over a tax debt, but they ducked the bigger constitutional question. Libertarian groups like the Cato Institute are begging the justices to stop the bleeding. Billions of dollars have been sucked into government coffers through these seizures. Most victims cannot afford to fight back. Jouppi did. Now, the feds have to answer.
