Comment Re:I think you misread me (Score 1) 469
The 8th Amendment only protects against cruel & unusual **punishment**, and punishment requires a criminal context. It is not implicated here. This is a civil damages award, governed by the loosey-goosey so-called "standards" of the due process clause.
See the Supreme Court's decision in BMW v. Gore, for example. (No, not *that* Gore.)
As constitutional doctrines go, it's really an odd duck. Substantive due process was brought into its own by the liberals of the Warren court, but extended to protect against exorbitant damages awards principally in the hands of conservative members of the bar. Which goes to show that law is mostly a matter of opportunism, not principle.
See the Supreme Court's decision in BMW v. Gore, for example. (No, not *that* Gore.)
As constitutional doctrines go, it's really an odd duck. Substantive due process was brought into its own by the liberals of the Warren court, but extended to protect against exorbitant damages awards principally in the hands of conservative members of the bar. Which goes to show that law is mostly a matter of opportunism, not principle.
