Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Kenneth J. Jouppi v. Alaska
Paid petition · Supreme Court of Alaska, No. S-18598, S-18637 · judgment April 18, 2025
Before the decision, modestly above the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a petition citing three to ten dissents, and counsel who has filed here before, and down for a state or local-government respondent.
Question presented
The "touchstone of the constitutional inquiry under the Excessive Fines Clause" is that the amount of the fine "must bear some relationship to the gravity of the offense that it is designed to punish." United States v. Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321,334 (1998). Below, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld the forfeiture of petitioner's $95,000 airplane because, the court reasoned, petitioner knew that one of his passenger's grocery bags contained a sixpack of Budweiser. In so holding, the court captured vividly a lower-court conflict over the standard for evaluating the gravity of a property owner's offense under the Excessive Fines Clause. Aligning with the Eleventh Circuit, the Alaska Supreme Court examined the gravity of the defendant's offense at a stratospheric level of abstraction. Meanwhile, the federal circuit in which Alaska sits-in line with many other state and federal courts-holds that "[i]t is critical" to "review the specific actions of the violator rather than by taking an abstract view of the violation." The question presented is whether, in determining whether a fine contravenes the Excessive Fines Clause, courts may consider the gravity of the underlying offense purely in the abstract or should consider the gravity of the specific defendant's wrongdoing.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Samuel Bracken Gedge
Institute for Justice
For respondent
John Michael Connolly
Consovoy McCarthy PLLC
Case
Subject area
Due Process (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 3 conferences
Amicus briefs
3 cert-stage · 27 merits
(19 supporting pet./neither, 8 respondent)
Linked docket
24A1287
Orders
Order list, July 20, 2026 · Certiorari granted
Order list, September 4, 2026
Proceedings
- Oct 13 2026Brief amicus curiae of United States filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 13 2026Brief amici curiae of William P. Barr, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 13 2026Brief amici curiae of Association of Village Council Presidents, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 13 2026Brief amicus curiae of Alaska Legislative Council filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 13 2026Brief amici curiae of Former United States Attorney Michael W. Cotter, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 13 2026Brief amici curiae of The International Municipal Lawyers Association, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 13 2026Brief amicus curiae of Legal Enterprise for Neutral Standards filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 13 2026Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed.
- Oct 13 2026Brief amici curiae of Florida, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 08 2026Record received electronically from the Supreme Court of Alaska and available with the Clerk.
- Oct 05 2026Brief of respondent State of Alaska filed. (Distributed)
- Sep 18 2026CIRCULATED
- Sep 17 2026Record requested from the Supreme Court of Alaska.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amici curiae of Professor Jessica Asbridge, et al. filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amicus curiae of National Taxpayers Union Foundation filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amici curiae of Professor Stephanie H. Didwania, et al. filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amici curiae of Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center, et al. filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amicus curiae of Tyson Timbs filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amici curiae of Cato Institute, et al. filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amicus curiae of American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amicus curiae of Oklahoma Governor J. Kevin Stitt filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amicus curiae of The Institute for Free Speech filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amicus curiae of National Air Transportation Association filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amicus curiae of Professor Beth A. Colgan filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amicus curiae of The Buckeye Institute filed.
- Sep 10 2026Amicus brief of Eighth Amendment Scholars not accepted for filing. (To be corrected - September 15, 2026)
- Sep 10 2026Brief amici curiae of Eighth Amendment Scholars in support of neither party filed. (Corrected)
- Sep 10 2026Amicus brief of Juvenile Law Center, et al. not accepted for filing. (To be corrected - September 15, 2026)
- Sep 10 2026Brief amici curiae of Juvenile Law Center, et al. filed. (Corrected)
- Sep 10 2026Brief amici curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States, et al. filed.
- Sep 10 2026Brief amici curiae of Peter Flores, et al. filed.
- Sep 09 2026Brief amicus curiae of Fair and Just Prosecution filed.
- Sep 09 2026Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation filed.
- Sep 04 2026Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner GRANTED.
- Sep 04 2026SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, December 1, 2026.
- Sep 03 2026Brief of petitioner Kenneth Jouppi filed.
- Jul 27 2026Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner Kenneth Jouppi.
- Jul 20 2026Petition GRANTED.
- Jun 29 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/29/2026.
- Jun 25 2026Supplemental brief of petitioner Kenneth Jouppi filed.
- Nov 25 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/12/2025.
- Nov 24 2025Reply of petitioner Kenneth Jouppi filed. (Distributed)
- Nov 20 2025Waiver of the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition pursuant to Rule 15.5 filed by petitioners.
- Nov 17 2025Brief of respondent Alaska in opposition filed.
- Oct 17 2025Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
- Oct 17 2025Brief amicus curiae of Professor Beth A. Colgan filed.
- Oct 17 2025Brief amicus curiae of Tyson Timbs filed.
- Sep 29 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 17, 2025.
- Sep 26 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 17, 2025 to November 17, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 17 2025Response Requested. (Due October 17, 2025)
- Sep 10 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2025.
- Sep 04 2025Waiver of right of respondent Alaska to respond filed.
- Aug 29 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 3, 2025)
- Jun 26 2025Application (24A1287) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until September 2, 2025.
- Jun 24 2025Application (24A1287) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from July 17, 2025 to September 2, 2025, submitted to Justice Kagan.