It’s actually starting to look like that is the plan, as he doesn’t seem to be making any effort to file an 8th amendment plea to a federal court over the excessiveness of the fine, which most legal experts have said he should have a good chance of winning.
Therefore it appears he’s going more with a political strategy, of further exposing their unfairness, and attempting to garner sympathy from it, than spending any more money on the legal fight by striking up a new case.
Maybe his own legal experts have told him he doesn’t actually stand a good chance of winning an 8th amendment appeal, but it’s still a question that needs to be asked if he’s not going to do it.
Sotomayor circuit.