Supreme Court to hear from Alaskan bush pilot whose plane was confiscated over a six-pack of beer

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear an appeal from an Alaskan bush pilot whose plane was seized by authorities after they discovered it was bound for a remote, dry village with beer on board. Jouppi claims that the taking of his $95,000 Cessna for what amounted to a six-pack of beer violated the 8th Amendment's bar on excessive fines. The Supreme Court is likely to hear oral arguments in the case later this year or early next — and hand down a decision by next summer. Advertisement Advertisement"The Excessive Fines Clause of the Constitution was built for cases like this," said Sam Gedge, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, which is representing the pilot. "Billions of dollars have been generated for the government through civil and criminal forfeitures," the group told the Supreme Court in a brief last year.