Columbus, OH – On Tuesday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Spartan Securities Group, calling on the court to protect citizens from excessive fines in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.

“Since the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215, English law and later the English Bill of Rights have prohibited excessive fines,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute. “And our Founding Fathers viewed the freedom from excessive fines as a fundamental protection of liberty. This liberty interest was so vital that in drafting the Eighth Amendment, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution adopted the prohibition on excessive fines verbatim from the 1689 English Bill of Rights. This protection is as relevant today as it was in 1215 when King John signed the Magna Carta.” 

The defendants in the case are represented by the New Civil Liberties Alliance, which argues that after their clients were found not liable in 13 of 14 counts of securities fraud, the lower court erred in awarding “various monetary and equitable remedies, including disgorgement,” which are beyond the defendants’ ability to pay and which violate the Eighth Amendment.

# # #