No criminal cases today from the 9th Circuit, but there is a decision on the Excessive Fines Clause of the 8th Amendment (which is close enough for me).
In Pimentel v. City of Los Angeles, --- F.3d ---, No. 18-56553 (9th Cir. 2020), the Court held that the Excessive Fines Clause applies
to municipal parking fines. It thus applied the factors from United States Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321
(1998) / United States v. $100,348 in U.S. Currency,
354 F.3d 1110, 1122 (9th Cir. 2004) (enunciating the
“Bajakajian factors”), to determine whether the fine at issue was excessive.
The Court concluded L.A.'s $63 parking fine was not unconstitutionally excessive, but the 100% late fee might be, so it remanded.
Judge Bennet concurred. He does not think the Excessive Fines Clause should apply to municipal parking fines, but given that L.A. conceded the issue, he agreed with the decision.
