Posted on 09/29/2025 9:36:26 AM PDT by xxqqzz
WASHINGTON — Ken Jouppi, a bush pilot, was putting gas in his Cessna in Fairbanks, Alaska, on an April morning in 2012 when state troopers arrived. He was preparing to fly a client to Beaver, a remote village 110 miles to the north that prohibits alcohol.
“It was going to be a good day,” Jouppi, 82, an Air Force veteran, recalled last week.
But the encounter ended badly. The troopers found beer in the passenger’s luggage, and Jouppi was eventually found guilty of knowingly transporting alcohol into a dry community. He was sentenced to three days in jail and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine.
Prosecutors wanted one more thing: his plane, worth about $95,000. Because Jouppi had used it to commit his crime, they argued, it was subject to forfeiture. The Alaska Supreme Court agreed.
“He knowingly transported a six-pack of alcohol in plain view while acting in his professional capacity as the operator of an air taxi company and the pilot of the airplane,” Justice Jude Pate wrote for a unanimous court. “This factor suggests that the forfeiture of his airplane is not grossly disproportional.”
From 2013 Alaskan pilot may face $1M beer fine Jouppi, represented by the Institute for Justice, a libertarian legal group, asked the U.S. Supreme Court last month to hear his appeal. Although the case seems to present a substantial question in an area that has lately engaged the justices, the state waived its right to file a response.
In a sign that at least one justice is intrigued by the case, the court asked Alaska to file a brief. On Friday, its lawyers asked for an extension, saying they hoped to submit their response in November.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.com ...
If it’s Bud Light, I understand.
Wait. Was it in his luggage or was it in plain view. Perhaps Pastel can straighten this out.
When did prohibition return? No one told me.
Sounds like a violation of the 8th amendment:
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
Excessive fines—like what Letitia James did to Trump.
I will second that motion!
> Sounds like a violation of the 8th amendment <
Excellent catch.
PLUNDERING…. a favorite tactic of OTHER-PEOPLE’S-MONEY governments.
PLUNDERING…. a favorite tactic of OTHER-PEOPLE’S-MONEY governments.
Someone related to an individual in the court wants that airplane.
This punishment does not fit that crime.
It is stratospherically out of proportion, and they know it!
I don’t understand why it remains unfulfilled, unresolved to this day, unless he’s been filing chain linked appeals.
That method of defense would be very expensive.
Imagine, making it to the grand old age of 82, basic faculties still working, and this problem remains a constant dread. That’s worse than being 82 y/o, and still being chased/ nagged/ harrassed by the IRS for your unpaid Student Loan
It was the in the passengers luggage. And I believe that the pilot knew about one six pack but the passenger actually had more like four. The passenger was smuggling it in to a friend or family member. I can’t bring myself to click on the Seattle times, but the story was going around not long ago.
The beer may have been in the aircraft and visible, but that doesn’t mean that he was going to leave it in Beaver. Maybe a pax from a previous flight into Fairbanks forgot to take it out of the plane. I flew charters in Alaska many years ago and pax would leave all kinds of things onboard when deplaning.
Most likely, the judge.
Wait. This happened in 2012?????
As the Untouchables flew up to Alaska to investigate…….
As the Untouchables flew up to Alaska to investigate…….
As the Untouchables flew up to Alaska to investigate…….
Our wonderful government in action to protect citizens.
I’ve heard of the wheels of justice grinding slowly, but damn.
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