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Danny James McLaughlin v. United States
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, No. 20-10708 · judgment February 16, 2021
Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, an Eleventh Circuit decision below, and counsel who has filed here before.
Question presented
When deciding whether a criminal fine is disproportionate to the gravity of a defendant’s crime, and thereby unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment, may a reviewing court look beyond and consider more than the four factors identified in United States v. Bajakajian, 118 S. Ct. 2028 (1998); that is, are the Bajakajian factors exhaustive, such that a reviewing court is strictly limited to a narrow comparison between the amount of a fine and the characteristics of the offense; or, may a reviewing court accept, entertain, and consider other matters in addition to the enumerated Bajakajian factors when answering an Eighth Amendment challenge to a fine as excessive?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Fritz Scheller
Fritz Scheller, P.L.
For respondent
Brian H. Fletcher
Acting Solicitor General
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Proceedings
- Oct 04 2021Petition DENIED.
- Jul 21 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
- Jul 19 2021Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
- Jul 13 2021Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 16, 2021)