An 82-year-old pilot could lose his $95,000 plane over a passenger's six-pack of beer — now the Supreme Court will decide if that's legal

“I’m in my 80s now, and I’ve been fighting this for over a decade because I see it as my duty to ensure that the Bill of Rights actually means something in protecting against government overreach,” Jouppi said in a news release.

Jouppi says courts must weigh the seriousness of the offense when deciding whether a fine violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on excessive fines. He argues that didn’t happen when his airplane was forfeited.

The charges against Jouppi

On April 3, 2012, Jouppi was preparing to fly a passenger from Fairbanks to the remote village of Beaver, where alcohol is prohibited. The passenger had packed Budweiser and Bud Light with other groceries. Before the flight departed, state police searched the plane and found the alcohol.

Jouppi claims most of the beer was out of sight. State police disagreed, saying it was in plain view inside a grocery bag.

The pilot, his company and the passenger were all charged with a misdemeanor offense of knowingly transporting alcohol into a dry community. Jouppi was fined $1,500 and sentenced to three days in jail.

In April 2025, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the seizure of Jouppi’s plane was not an excessive fine. That decision was appealed by his attorneys, who argued the court didn’t evaluate whether the case was part of a broader pattern of criminal activity.

Alaska, meanwhile, told the Supreme Court it has struggled to combat alcohol abuse in remote parts of its state and that the sale and possession of alcohol has been banned in Beaver for more than two decades.

“Given that many communities are accessible primarily by air, the legislature provided that any airplane used to illegally import alcohol into a dry community was subject to forfeiture,” the state told the Supreme Court.

The Eighth Amendment

Jouppi’s argument centers on the rights outlined in the Eighth Amendment. The amendment prohibits excessive bail, fines and cruel and unusual punishment.