Tyson Timbs, a self-proclaimed heroin junkie, was arrested in late 2013 when he attempted to sell approximately $250 worth of drugs to an undercover police officer (Alesia, 2018). For the most part, the events following Timbs’ arrest adhered to standard procedure: Timbs was charged and pled guilty in an Indiana state court to dealing in a controlled substance and conspiracy to commit theft (Timbs v. Indiana, 2019). The trial court sentenced him to one year of home detention, five years of probation, and a court-supervised addiction treatment program, as well as to pay fees and costs totaling $1,203. However, at the time of arrest, police officers also seized Timbs’ Land Rover SUV — a vehicle he had recently purchased with the proceeds of his late father’s life insurance policy (Hill, 2020). Despite Timbs’ guilty plea and adherence to the terms of his sentence, the State of Indiana refused to return the vehicle. Thus began Timbs’ multiyear journey through the court system in an attempt to regain possession of his SUV. Ultimately, the State of Indiana would return the vehicle, and the outcome of Timbs’ case would change the constitutional framework for assessing fines in all 50 states.

While Timbs v. Indiana stands out as the landmark decision for incorporating the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment as applicable to the states, the circumstances that incited the lawsuit are not unique (Wilson, 2019). When Timbs was arrested, he was addicted to drugs and faced an uphill battle in reaching sobriety and reforming his behavior. Timbs remarked that without a vehicle, he lacked the ability to meet with his parole officer, attend drug treatment, go to work, or rehabilitate from his crimes in any meaningful way — nor did he have the financial means to work around these obstacles (Wilson, 2019). Across America, thousands of people find themselves in similar situations every day: courts often impose astronomically high fines or seize high-valued property as punishment for low-level drug and traffic related offenses (Spielman, 2020). Since 2011, at least 50,000 automobiles belonging to Chicagoans have been seized and sold as punishment for unpaid parking tickets (Ramos, 2019). Unsurprisingly, a “vast majority” of these “tow-and-sell” vehicles originate in low-income neighborhoods (Ramos, 2019).

By incorporating the Eighth Amendment excessive fines clause as applicable to the states, the Timbs decision has, to an extent, clarified an area of constitutional law that was once a point of great contention across America. However, the impact of the decision has not yet been fully appreciated in Illinois municipalities. By calling upon the language of the Magna Carta, the Timbs decision suggests an effective method for ensuring Eighth Amendment protections for all: a graduated, proportionate fine system (Timbs v. Indiana, 2019). This article argues that municipalities within the State of Illinois — especially the City of Chicago, which has faced significant backlash for its nongraduated fines and frequent property seizures — should adopt a graduated fine system in order to protect the constitutional rights of its residents and better promote their rehabilitation from crime (Spielman, 2019; Schierenbeck, 2018b).

Part I describes the outcome of Timbs v. Indiana with emphasis on its reference to the language of the Magna Carta and how such language defines the scope and purpose of the Eighth Amendment. Part II details the nongraduated fine system under which many Illinois municipalities currently operate and explores the issues that such a system has caused for numerous Chicago residents, in particular. Part III asserts that the language within the Timbs opinion suggests the use of a graduated fine system. Ultimately, Part III offers a framework for governmental entities to implement a graduated fine system, exploring the potential consequences of such a system and explaining that the application of a graduated fine system across Illinois would better serve the purposes of punishment and effectively protect the constitutional rights guaranteed to all Illinois residents.

Read the article below.