To: CA Conservative
People keep talking about what is not in the constitution,is their anything in the constitution about so called punitive damages. I just dont ever remember reading that anywhere.
21 posted on
04/07/2003 11:11:12 AM PDT by
cksharks
To: cksharks
Amendment VIII to the US Constitution:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
24 posted on
04/07/2003 11:16:01 AM PDT by
Poohbah
(Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!)
To: cksharks
The 8th Amendment prohibits excessive fines. Since punitive damages are, by definition, a form of punishment imposed on the defendant by a court (a branch of the government), this prohibition would be applicable, I would think. You might disagree, but the question is open to argument, and it appears that the majority of the USSC believes it to be a valid argument.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson