Alaskan Man Seeks a Supreme Court Opinion in Decade-Old Case

Fairbanks pilot Kenneth Jouppi is being forced to forfeit his Cessna 206 Stationair after ‘knowingly’ using it to transport a six-pack to a dry village… 13 years ago. The case has been through the weeds since then and may now be on its way to the Supreme Court.

Jouppi’s case first began with a ruling from a Fairbanks jury over a decade ago. He, as the owner of KenAir LLC, was found guilty of a misdemeanor bootlegging charge after he assisted a passenger loading their cargo into the aircraft. These boxes and bags contained around 72 bottles of beer, however, and Alaska State Troopers were standing just off to the side with a warrant.

Though the court was unable to determine whether or not Jouppi was aware of what was inside the boxes, they were able to prove that he knew at least one six-pack was on board since it was visible through a plastic bag. Jouppi was slapped with three days in jail, a $1,500 fine for both him and KenAir, and three years of probation.

At the time, Jouppi’s Cessna 206 was still safe. District court trial judge Patrick Hammers clarified that the state’s law did not allow it to confiscate the aircraft. The Alaska Court of Appeals was quick to fight this decision, reversing the earlier court ruling and sending it back to the trial judge.

After several more court dates, a petition made its way to the Alaska Supreme Court to decide whether a $95,000 value forfeiture was excessive under constitutional law. Judges found that, "within this context, it is clear that the illegal importation of even a six-pack of beer causes grave societal harm. This factor strongly suggests that the forfeiture is not grossly disproportional."

So, after 13 years of court confusion, Alaska may still be able to take away Jouppi’s bird.

"In my opinion, if this isn't an excessive fine, I don't know what is," noted Robert John, Jouppi's attorney. "The odds are good that we're gonna be seeking review in the United States Supreme Court. So we gotta muster our resources and proceed forward."

FMI: https://courts.alaska.gov