Court Erred in Applying ‘Excessive Fines’ Clause to Forfeiture 
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Published: June 8, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal, Judge Robert B. King
The 4th Circuit affirms the judgment that an Ethiopian citizen engaged in illegal currency structuring through his deposits into two different banks in Fairfax, Va., but the appellate court says the district court erred in reducing the corresponding civil forfeiture of appellant’s funds from $79,650 to $50,000 on Eighth Amendment grounds.
During the trial, appellant ...
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