United States v. Bajakajian
Encyclopedia
United States v. Bajakajian, , is a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States
regarding the Excessive Fines clause of the Eighth Amendment
. This case is the only occasion on which the Supreme Court has held that an imposed fine was unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment.
with $357,144 without reporting this to customs officials as required by 31 U.S.C. § 5316, which requires the reporting of all international movements of currency
with value in excess of $10,000. The Government
sought forfeiture of the entirety of the $357,144. None of the money
was found to have been connected with any other criminal action whatsoever. Bajakajian was traveling to Cyprus
via Italy
, and the cash
was intended to pay a debt
. He was also initially charged with lying to customs, but this charge was dropped.
Bajakajian plea
ded guilty to failure to report and opted for a bench trial
on the forfeiture of the $357,144. A United States district court
judge found the forfeiture of the whole $357,144 to be grossly disproportionate and in violation of the Eighth Amendment. He ordered forfeiture of $15,000 in addition to the maximum fine of $5,000 and three years probation for failure to report. Bajakajian had been eligible for six months in prison, but the Judge did not impose this sentence.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
affirmed the decision of the District Court and in fact stated its willingness to go further by ruling that the forfeiture of any of the currency was unconstitutional. Unfortunately for Bajakajian, he had not appealed the forfeiture to the Ninth Circuit and they were thus unable to set it aside.
joined by Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg and Breyer. Justice Anthony Kennedy
dissented, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice O'Connor and Justice Scalia.
At issue was 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(1) which provides that: As understood by U.S. Customs and Border Protection
, this law allowed the forfeiture of all of the money that the respondent had tried to take out of the country. The question was whether this conflicted with the Eighth Amendment's provision that “excessive fines [not be] imposed.”
Although Thomas noted that the case was complicated by the fact that both federal law and the government's case in Bajakajian somewhat blurred the distinction between civil forfeiture and a fine intended to punish, it was clear in this case that punishment was at least part of the government's intent. However, the case allowed the Court to look at the issue of excessive fines apart from other criminal issues because there were no charges against the respondent other than the one that he had failed to report an amount of cash. The respondent had broken no other laws. (A separate charge of lying to customs officials had been dropped before the case had come to trial.) Indeed, Thomas chided the dissenters in the case for referring to the respondent as a smuggler. Also, the problem of what constituted an excessive fine or made it disproportionate to the crime need not be worked out in detail because the question in this case was whether the fine was grossly disproportionate.
“Comparing the gravity of respondent’s crime with the $357,144 forfeiture the Government seeks," Thomas wrote, "we conclude that such a forfeiture would be grossly disproportional to the gravity of his offense. It is larger than the $5,000 fine imposed by the District Court by many orders of magnitude, and it bears no articulable correlation to any injury suffered by the Government. … For the foregoing reasons, the full forfeiture of respondent’s currency would violate the Excessive Fines Clause.”
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
regarding the Excessive Fines clause of the Eighth Amendment
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual...
. This case is the only occasion on which the Supreme Court has held that an imposed fine was unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment.
Case history
In 1994, Hosep Krikor Bajakajian had attempted to leave the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with $357,144 without reporting this to customs officials as required by 31 U.S.C. § 5316, which requires the reporting of all international movements of currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
with value in excess of $10,000. The Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
sought forfeiture of the entirety of the $357,144. None of the money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
was found to have been connected with any other criminal action whatsoever. Bajakajian was traveling to Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
via Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and the cash
Cash
In common language cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately...
was intended to pay a debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
. He was also initially charged with lying to customs, but this charge was dropped.
Bajakajian plea
Plea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a civil or criminal case under common law using the adversary system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a criminal defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response to a criminal charge, whether that...
ded guilty to failure to report and opted for a bench trial
Bench trial
A bench trial is a trial held before a judge sitting without a jury. The term is chiefly used in common law jurisdictions to describe exceptions from jury trial, as most other legal systems do not use juries to any great extent....
on the forfeiture of the $357,144. A United States district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
judge found the forfeiture of the whole $357,144 to be grossly disproportionate and in violation of the Eighth Amendment. He ordered forfeiture of $15,000 in addition to the maximum fine of $5,000 and three years probation for failure to report. Bajakajian had been eligible for six months in prison, but the Judge did not impose this sentence.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
affirmed the decision of the District Court and in fact stated its willingness to go further by ruling that the forfeiture of any of the currency was unconstitutional. Unfortunately for Bajakajian, he had not appealed the forfeiture to the Ninth Circuit and they were thus unable to set it aside.
Supreme Court decision
The case was argued before the Supreme Court on November 4, 1997 and decided on June 22, 1998. The Opinion of the Court was delivered by Justice Clarence ThomasClarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
joined by Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg and Breyer. Justice Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy has often been the swing vote on many of the Court's politically charged 5–4 decisions...
dissented, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice O'Connor and Justice Scalia.
At issue was 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(1) which provides that: As understood by U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs and immigration. CBP is the...
, this law allowed the forfeiture of all of the money that the respondent had tried to take out of the country. The question was whether this conflicted with the Eighth Amendment's provision that “excessive fines [not be] imposed.”
Although Thomas noted that the case was complicated by the fact that both federal law and the government's case in Bajakajian somewhat blurred the distinction between civil forfeiture and a fine intended to punish, it was clear in this case that punishment was at least part of the government's intent. However, the case allowed the Court to look at the issue of excessive fines apart from other criminal issues because there were no charges against the respondent other than the one that he had failed to report an amount of cash. The respondent had broken no other laws. (A separate charge of lying to customs officials had been dropped before the case had come to trial.) Indeed, Thomas chided the dissenters in the case for referring to the respondent as a smuggler. Also, the problem of what constituted an excessive fine or made it disproportionate to the crime need not be worked out in detail because the question in this case was whether the fine was grossly disproportionate.
“Comparing the gravity of respondent’s crime with the $357,144 forfeiture the Government seeks," Thomas wrote, "we conclude that such a forfeiture would be grossly disproportional to the gravity of his offense. It is larger than the $5,000 fine imposed by the District Court by many orders of magnitude, and it bears no articulable correlation to any injury suffered by the Government. … For the foregoing reasons, the full forfeiture of respondent’s currency would violate the Excessive Fines Clause.”
See also
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 524
- List of United States Supreme Court cases
- Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume