Small Heroin Sale Tees Up High Court Test of Forfeiture Laws

A challenge to a rare legal scenario in which a federally protected civil liberty has not yet been extended to apply to state law enforcement will be heard Nov. 28 by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that started with a $260 heroin sale, the Indianapolis Star reports. So far, Indiana state courts have said their hands are tied until the nation’s high court rules that the 8th Amendment’s protection against excessive fines applies to civil asset forfeiture by state agencies.

The case started when a self-described “junkie,” Tyson Timbs, was driving his $42,000 Land Rover he bought with an inheritance when he was arrested for selling heroin to undercover officers. Timbs pleaded guilty and forfeited ownership of the vehicle, even though the maximum potential fine for his crime was $10,000, the Star reports. Timbs’ actual sentence was home detention, probation and court fees. The libertarian Institute for Justice took up Timbs’ case and attracted amicus brief support for its case from both the liberal American Civil Liberties Union and conservative United States Chamber of Commerce.