The decision, which united the court's conservatives and liberals, makes clear that the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against "excessive fines" applies to states and localities as well as the federal government. [More]Now what about "cruel and unusual punishment"?
[Via Michael G]
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And it was unanimous.
As another blogger suggested (paraphrasing), when Clarence and Ruth both agree with the side you're not on, just how wrong must you be?
"The protection against excessive fines guards against abuses of government’s punitive or criminal law-enforcement authority," Ginsburg wrote. Quoting in part from the court's ruling in 2010 that Second Amendment gun rights apply to the states, she said, "This safeguard, we hold, is 'fundamental to our scheme of ordered liberty.' "
So, following the example of the 2010 2nd Amendment rights decision, will the states continue to do as they please and also ignore this decision?
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