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Case of Titus Oates
The provision was largely inspired by the case in England of Titus Oates who, after the accession of King James II in 1685, was tried for multiple acts of perjury that had led to executions of many people Oates had wrongly accused. -
Virginia Accepting the English Bill of Rights
Virginia adopted this provision of the English Bill of Rights in the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, and the Virginia convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution recommended in 1788 that this language also be included in the Constitution. -
US adopted the Bill of Right
The Eighth Amendment was adopted, as part of the Bill of Rights, in 1791. -
Browning-Ferris v. Kelco
The Supreme Court ruled that the Excessive Fines Clause does not apply "when the government neither has prosecuted the action nor has any right to receive a share of the damages awarded". While punitive damages in civil cases are not covered by the Excessive Fines Clause, such damages were held to be covered by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, notably in State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408 (2003). -
Austin v. United States
In Austin v. United States 509 U.S. 602 (1993), the Supreme Court ruled that the Excessive Fines Clause does apply to civil asset forfeiture actions taken by the federal government, in the specific case, the government's seizure of the petitioner's auto body shop on the bases of one charge of drug possession for which he had served seven years in prison. -
Timbs v. Indiana
In Timbs v. Indiana the Supreme Court ruled that the Excessive Fines Clause applies to state and local governments under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case involves the use of civil asset forfeiture to seize a $42,000 vehicle under state law in addition to the imposition of a $1,200 fine for drug trafficking charges, house arrest, and probation.