WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Wednesday strengthened the rights of Americans to fight police seizures of vehicles and property, ruling the Eighth Amendments ban on excessive fines applies to states and localities, not just the federal government.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her second day back from cancer surgery delivered the opinion for a unanimous court.
The ruling is a victory for Tyson Timbs, an Indiana man and a former heroin addict whose $42,000 Land Rover was seized by police after he was convicted of two drug sales that amounted to about $300.