Supreme Court will review Alaska's bid to seize plane over 6-pack of beer
The pilot, Kenneth Jouppi, argues that taking his 1969 Cessna would violate the Eighth Amendment's "Excessive Fines Clause."
Updated on: July 21, 2026 / 6:29 AM EDT / CBS/AP
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review an Alaska bush pilot's claims that state authorities have tried to illegally seize his $95,000 airplane after a passenger brought a six-pack of beer on a flight bound for a dry village.
The pilot, Kenneth Jouppi, sued to block his plane's seizure after he was convicted of an alcohol-related misdemeanor charge. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in the state's favor that Jouppi's plane was subject to criminal forfeiture laws.
"I'm thrilled that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear this case, because this case isn't just about me or my airplane anymore," Jouppi said in a statement released by his attorneys at the Institute for Justice. "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."
In April 2012, Jouppi was preparing to fly a passenger from Fairbanks to a remote village, Beaver, where alcohol was banned. The passenger had packed beer with other groceries in her luggage. State Police troopers searched Jouppi's plane before it departed and spotted a six-pack of Budweiser in a shopping bag.