Pilot Plane Seizure Case
Court reviews whether Alaska can confiscate a pilot's plane over a passenger's beer.
Summary
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear Kenneth Jouppi’s challenge to Alaska’s attempt to seize his $95,000 airplane after a passenger brought a six-pack of beer on a flight to a dry village. Jouppi, an 82-year-old Alaska bush pilot, was convicted of an alcohol-related misdemeanor after the 2012 trip. The Alaska Supreme Court allowed the forfeiture case to proceed. The case asks whether taking the plane would violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on excessive fines and could affect state and local asset-forfeiture powers.
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