Jouppi v. Alaska

(Filed: Sept. 10, 2026)

Ken Jouppi is a pilot who was convicted of attempting to fly his passenger’s six pack of beer to a dry community in Alaska. In response, the State of Alaska seized his $95,000 airplane, relying on a law designed to fight alcohol abuse in villages where alcohol is banned.

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled as a matter of law that taking Jouppi’s plane was not an excessive fine in violation of the Eight Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Rather than consider the specific facts of Jouppi’s crime, the Alaska Supreme Court reasoned that Jouppi’s conduct was exactly what Alaska’s laws meant to prohibit and therefore, he was subject to whatever punishment the law authorized, regardless of whether the authorized forfeiture was proportional to the actual crime committed. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari and is now considering the case on the merits.

On September 10, 2026, Upper Seven Law filed an amicus brief on behalf of three healthcare professionals—Peter Flores, Kelsey Shepherd, and Stacey Johnson—in support of Jouppi. Each had accepted a federal loan repayment grant to work in an underserved community, made good-faith efforts to meet their obligations, and faced a penalty three or more times the amount of their original grant after a federal agency refused to consider whether the penalty was proportional to their individual conduct and circumstances. The brief argues that the Eighth Amendment requires an individualized assessment of a person's specific conduct and culpability before the government can impose a punishing fine—not a one-size-fits-all penalty justified by a larger, generalized harm. The case remains pending before the Supreme Court.