United States Constitution/Amendment Eight
Amendment VIII (the Eighth Amendment) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, states:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Excessive fines
The "excessive fines" clause of the Eighth Amendment is sometimes utilized in appeals by defendants. In 1998 the Supreme Court in United States v. Bajakajian decided that the defendant's Eighth Amendment rights were violated when the Customs Service confiscated $357,144 which he failed to report that he was carrying on his person while attempting to leave the country. (Regulations state that all people leaving the country must report the transport of greater than $10,000 out of the country.)
Cruel and unusual punishments
The Eighth Amendment is routinely invoked when a death penalty case is appealed to the Supreme Court by the defense. Between 1967 and 1976, the death penalty was declared to be unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment's "unusual" clause; defendants either received the death penalty or didn't in what appeared to the justices to be random selection. When the states revised their procedures, the death penalty was again upheld. Still, defense attorneys nearly always argue that their condemned client's Eighth Amendment rights have been violated.
The "cruel and unusual punishment" clause has also been used to argue that the defendant's constitutional rights are violated by execution via electric chair; by the three strikes laws of many states which assign life sentences to a three-time felon, no matter what the felony; and by any execution if the condemned is mentally retarded. Of late, the Supreme Court has stated that it is the responsibility of the legislative branch, and not the courts, to decide what punishments are "usual", and only in extreme cases should the courts intervene on Eighth Amendment grounds.
See also
Referenced By
Bail | Landmark case | Torture
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