$40,000 Fine for Small Offense Is Cops’ New ‘Weapon of Mass Destruction’

Tyson Timbs knew he messed up when he was caught selling a couple of grams of drugs to an undercover cop, and he pleaded guilty, served a year of house arrest and paid $1,200 . . .

Then a private law firm notified him of an additional $40,000 fine for the same offense, through the confiscation of his truck, which would be used for the personal benefit of the lawyers and the cops in his Indiana town.

That would have been impossible had the fine been issues by the federal government, because the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment prohibits such actions. But some cities and towns aren’t convinced they should follow that constitutional principle.

So the case has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court where the justices are being asked to decide whether it’s allowable under the Constitution for municipalities’ cops and hired lawyers to impose crushing fines, then benefit personally . . .

The IJ explained the background: “Tyson’s road to the Supreme Court began shortly after his father died, leaving him more than $70,000 in life-insurance proceeds. Tyson used some of the money to buy a new Land Rover LR2. Four months later, however, his car was seized when he sold four grams of heroin to undercover officers. Tyson pleaded guilty to drug dealing, served one year on house arrest and paid $1,200 in court fees. Most importantly, his arrest prompted him to get his life back on track.” (Read more from “$40,000 Fine for Small Offense Is Cops’ New ‘Weapon of Mass Destruction'” HERE)

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