Pending 8th Amendment Amicus Cases

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 Amicus Brief in support of Plaintiffs 

Superior Court of Wake County

TOPICS: disenfranchisement; fines + fees

This amicus brief challenges a law in North Carolina that bars individuals with any felony record from voting. In order to have the right restored, one must  not only be discharged from probation, parole, and post-release supervision, but also have paid all court costs, fees, and restitution. Our brief discusses how the combined phenomena of overcriminalization and the growth of "user-funded" justice combine to make North Carolina's law unconstitutional. Filed June 24, 2020 with Cato Institute and R Street Institute.

Read more about this brief in our After the Plea/Trial Amicus Brief collection.

Amicus Brief in Support of Petitioner

U.S. Supreme Court

TOPICS: civil asset forfeiture; excessive fines + fees; incorporation

This case centered around the civil forfeiture of the plaintiff's $42,000 vehicle for a crime that had a maximum $10,000 criminal fine. Filed September 11, 2018 with Cato Institute, DKT Liberty Project, Federal Bar Association Civil Rights Section, Goldwater Institute, and Texas Public Policy Foundation.  

OUTCOME: The Supreme Court agreed with us and ruled 9-0 in favor of plaintiff Timbs, holding that the Excessive Fines Clause of the  Eighth Amendment is incorporated to the states through the Fourteenth  Amendment's Due Process Clause. Read the opinion here.