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Excessive Fines

A burning forest on the left, a normal forest on the right, and the word BANNED across the entire image in red | Illustration: Eddie Marshall | Chris Dorney | Marcio Silva | Dreamstime.com | Midjourney

Canada

Nova Scotia Bans Everyone From Hiking in the Woods Until October

The province says this will prevent forest fires. Those who violate the ban will face a $25,000 fine.

Sophia Mandt | 8.19.2025 2:35 PM

A deer looking at the camera, with a deer skull in the lower right corner | Illustration: Eddie Marshall | Katie Collins |.Flickr | Midjourney

Wildlife

Louisiana Wildlife Officials Killed a Blind Deer After a Family Nursed It Back to Health

The family also faced over $1,600 in fines, which were ultimately dropped.

Sophia Mandt | 8.14.2025 5:05 PM

Sean Feucht in front of an Canadian flag | Illustration: Eddie Marshall | Nikol85 | commons.wikimedia.org

Canada

Montreal Fines Church $2,500 for Hosting a Controversial American Singer

Christian artist Sean Feucht has been forced to find new venues for all six of his most recent shows in Canada.

Sophia Mandt | 7.31.2025 5:30 PM

Kathryn Sarkisian holding a chicken | Pacific Legal Foundation

Excessive Fines

She Got a Permit for Her Chickens. Now the City Is Fining Her $80,000.

The Douglas, Michigan, city government is hitting a homeowner with crushing fines after reversing its own approval. She’s fighting back in federal court.

C. Jarrett Dieterle | 6.28.2025 6:30 AM

6-23-25-V3 | Illustration: Eddie Marshall | Jason Kolenda | Dreamstime.com

Campaign Finance

Campaign Finance Laws Institutionalize Corruption

Powerful political allies get a pass, while dissenters are crushed with massive fines. This isn’t a flaw in the system—it’s the point.

David Keating | 6.23.2025 5:45 PM

Sandy Martinez stands in front of her home | Sandy Martinez (Institute for Justice)

Florida

Florida Woman Fined $165,000 for Trivial Code Violations Takes Her Case to the Florida Supreme Court

Sandy Martinez was fined for a parking violation on her own property, driveway cracks, and a storm-damaged fence.

Autumn Billings | 6.5.2025 3:05 PM

A code inspector in a hard hat stands in a building under construction, holding a clipboard and giving the camera a suspicous look. | Brian T. Young | Dreamstime.com

Building codes

Brickbat: Quick Work

Charles Oliver | 6.3.2025 4:00 AM

Graffiti in San Francisco's Chinatown neighborhood, depicting a serpent with a tiger's head, surrounded by lotus flowers. | Maximoangel | Dreamstime.com

California

Brickbat: Forget It, Jake…

Charles Oliver | 4.22.2025 4:00 AM

John Stossel stands in front of a yard with tall grass | Stossel TV

Excessive Fines

The Government Threatened To Seize His Home Over Tall Grass

Bureaucrats in Dunedin, Florida, originally hit Jim Ficken with a fine close to $30,000. When he couldn't pay that, things turned dire.

John Stossel | 4.2.2025 1:11 AM

An illustration of a referee in a European Union uniform giving a red card to a player in a U.S. uniform | Illustration: Joanna Andreasson

Technology

The European Commission Is Assaulting American Tech Companies

Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and others have all faced legal action from the European Union in recent years.

Jack Nicastro | 3.23.2025 6:00 AM

A car pulled over on the side of the road with two police vehicles behind. | Walter Arce | Dreamstime.com

Criminal Justice

Ohio Legislature Passes Bill Ending Driver's License Suspensions for Court Debts 

Media investigations found over 3 million active license suspensions in the state.

C.J. Ciaramella | 1.2.2025 3:18 PM

William "Chip" Mellor, cofounder of the Institute for Justice | Institute for Justice

Civil Liberties

Chip Mellor's Legacy Promotes a Broader Concept of Civil Liberties

For more than three decades, the Institute for Justice has shown that economic freedom and private property are essential safeguards for ordinary Americans.

Jacob Sullum | 10.16.2024 12:01 AM

Justice Department | ALEXANDER DRAGO/REUTERS/Newscom

Police Abuse

Justice Department Says a Small Mississippi Town Ran a Dickensian Debtor's Prison

Federal investigators say police in Lexington, Mississippi, used illegal searches, excessive force, and kept residents in jail when they couldn't pay off old fines.

C.J. Ciaramella | 9.27.2024 1:17 PM

Michael Ballard and Marcelino Martinez | Institute for Justice

Housing Policy

California County Fines Man $120,000 for Refusing to Evict a Family From His Property

Plus, a look at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Tina Smith's plan to resurrect public housing in America.

Christian Britschgi | 9.24.2024 1:07 PM

Tricycle in the desert at Burning Man | Trungdbnguyen | Dreamstime.com

Burning Man

Brickbat: License To Drive

Charles Oliver | 9.11.2024 4:00 AM

High schoolers being ticketed. | Illustration: Lex Villena; Photo 52298048 © Joe Sohm | Dreamstime.com

Education

Students in This Illinois School District Are Getting Tickets for Misbehaving

The fines, which can reach over $750, are disproportionately likely to be handed out to black students, a complaint with the Education Department alleges.

Emma Camp | 6.24.2024 4:11 PM

Man stands with a lawn mower in front of his home. | Institute for Justice

Regulation

Florida Man's Tall Grass Saga Comes to an End

One man’s overgrown yard became a six-year struggle against overzealous code enforcement.

Daryl James and Ari Bargil | 5.1.2024 2:00 PM

Sandy Martinez sits on a porch | Institute for Justice

Excessive Fines

A Florida Judge Says $165,000 in Fines for 3 Minor Code Violations Is Not 'Excessive'

Sandy Martinez faces that bill because of driveway cracks, a storm-damaged fence, and cars parked on her own property that illegally touched her lawn.

Jacob Sullum | 4.10.2024 2:30 PM

Wall of gritty graffiti. | Andrei Iancu | Dreamstime.com

California

Brickbat: Paint It Black

Charles Oliver | 4.5.2024 4:00 AM

A digital sign in Miami Beach reading NO LOUD MUSIC | MEGA/Newscom/FRIDA/Newscom

Florida

Miami Beach's Breakup With Spring Breakers May Fare Poorly for the City

Efforts to revamp the tourist hot spot ignore the reality for local business owners.

Varad Raigaonkar | 3.14.2024 5:01 PM

the shadow of fines and feed haunts juvenile offenders, often making rehabilitation and a better future harder | Illustration: Lex Villena; Midjourney

Excessive Fines

Ending Fees and Fines for Juvenile Offenders is Best for Rehabilitation

A former chief judge of Delaware's Family Court argues that imposing fines and fees on juvenile offenders undermines their potential to become productive, law-abiding adults.

Chandlee Kuhn | 3.13.2024 2:15 PM

Close-up of a vehicle tag sticker and tag registration form. | Pixelrobot | Dreamstime.com

Automobiles

Brickbat: Texas Tag Trouble

Charles Oliver | 3.12.2024 4:00 AM

The outdoor testing area of a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) location. | QuiteSimplyStock | Dreamstime.com

Excessive Fines

Brickbat: Late or Early

Charles Oliver | 2.21.2024 4:00 AM

A fallen tree breaks through a wooden privacy fence. | Mrivserg | Dreamstime.com

Nature

Brickbat: Timber!

Charles Oliver | 2.8.2024 4:00 AM

Foreclosure

Property Rights

Major Unanimous Supreme Court Victory for Property Rights in Tyler v. Hennepin County

The Supreme Court ruled that home equity theft qualifies as a taking, and that state law is not the sole source for the definition of property rights. The ruling is imprecise on some points, but still sets an important and valuable precedent.

Ilya Somin |The Volokh Conspiracy | 5.25.2023 2:19 PM

A pulled over car shows a police cruiser behind it in the side mirror | Robert Paetz /Dreamstime

Civil Asset Forfeiture

Coverage of Alabama Town's Predatory Fines and Seizures Earns Journalists a Pulitzer

The Brookside Police Department’s shakedown of travelers became a national news story and prompted federal lawsuits.

Scott Shackford | 5.9.2023 12:15 PM

A stone statue of a young person listening to music, placed on a wooden bench against a stone wall. | Cinar Yilancioglu | Dreamstime.com

Brickbats

Brickbat: Move It Along

Charles Oliver | 3.27.2023 4:00 AM

A corner grocery store in New York City's Chinatown neighborhood, with a bright red awning. | John Penney | Dreamstime.com

Brickbats

Brickbat: Overhang Oversight

Charles Oliver | 3.21.2023 4:00 AM

The IRS hit Monica Toth with a .1 million fine for failing to file a form on time. | Institute for Justice

IRS

The IRS Serves Its 'Customers' by Terrifying Them

A $2.1 million penalty for failing to file a form on time reveals the agency’s true nature.

Jacob Sullum | 1.25.2023 12:01 AM

Monica Toth | Institute for Justice

IRS

Supreme Court Declines Case Challenging Excessive IRS Penalties

Should an elderly grandmother be forced to hand over millions of dollars to the government for failing to file a particular form?

Scott Shackford | 1.23.2023 2:00 PM

Excessive Fines

Justice Gorsuch's Dissent from Denial of Review in an Excessive Fines Clause Case

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 1.23.2023 12:21 PM

Geraldine Tyler is seen at an assisted living facility | Courtesy of Pacific Legal Foundation

Supreme Court

They Fell Behind on Their Property Taxes. So the Government Sold Their Homes—and Kept the Profits.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear 94-year-old Geraldine Tyler's case challenging home equity theft.

Billy Binion | 1.17.2023 4:53 PM

Foreclosure

Takings

Supreme Court Decides to Hear Case Challenging State Law Empowering Government to Seize Entire Value of a House to Pay Much Smaller Property Tax Debt

Minnesota law allowed Hennepin County to seize a $40,000 home owned by a 93-year-old widow to pay off a $15,000 tax debt.

Ilya Somin |The Volokh Conspiracy | 1.14.2023 12:17 AM

Brittany Coleman | Institute for Justice

Qualified Immunity

Woman Can Sue Alabama Cops for Towing Car as Part of Town's Profiteering Scheme

A federal judge denied qualified immunity for officers accused of making up charges to get money from fines.

Scott Shackford | 10.31.2022 2:30 PM

Jaywalking man | DPST/Newscom

California

Decriminalizing Jaywalking in California Will Help Reduce Police Harassment

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill in September that will chip away at a policy that has long been criticized as enabling racially-motivated policing.

Emma Camp | 10.27.2022 10:50 AM

Serafim Katergaris | Institute for Justice

Excessive Fines

He Didn't Break Any Rules. New York City Is Demanding He Pay a Fine Anyway

The Big Apple's building regulations are almost impossible to navigate, and officials like it that way.

J.D. Tuccille | 9.19.2022 7:00 AM

Monica Toth | Institute for Justice

Supreme Court

This Grandmother Didn't Submit the Proper Banking Form. Now the IRS Wants $2.1 Million From Her.

She’s asking the Supreme Court to consider whether this seizure is an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment.

Scott Shackford | 8.30.2022 2:10 PM

Police officer writing a ticket | Peterfactors / Dreamstime.com

Police

This Alabama Town's Shakedowns Are So Egregious That the Justice Department Is Backing a Suit Against It

Brookside faces several federal challenges for trying to fund its city by ticketing and towing the cars of anybody they can get away with.

Scott Shackford | 7.28.2022 1:55 PM

chicagopolicecar_1161x653 | Cafebeanz Company / Dreamstime.com

Civil Liberties

Illinois Appeals Court Rules Chicago Slapped Drivers With Illegally High Fines for Years

A plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit says he had to declare bankruptcy after Chicago dumped $20,000 of ticket debts on him.

C.J. Ciaramella | 5.9.2022 4:33 PM

Free Speech

Washington S. Ct. Upholds $18M Fine for Violating Campaign Disclosure Rules

The court rejected an Excessive Fines Clause challenge (by a 5-4 vote) and a First Amendment challenge.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 1.20.2022 12:00 PM

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