Department of Revenue of Montana v. Kurth Ranch
United States Supreme Court
511 U.S. 767 (1994)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
The Kurth family (defendants) grew marijuana on the family ranch and sold the marijuana. Law-enforcement personnel arrested the Kurths and confiscated the marijuana. In a criminal action, all six family members were convicted of possessing illegal drugs with intent to sell and received various sentences. The county then brought a civil-forfeiture action. The Kurths settled that action by agreeing to forfeit approximately $18,000 in cash and some equipment that had been part of the illegal operation. In addition, a state law imposed a tax on possessing illegal drugs, including marijuana. The law’s declared purpose was to raise revenue and to deter illegal-drug use. The taxed amount could be up to eight times the drugs’ market value, and the tax was imposed only after a person was arrested for possessing the drugs. Under this law, the state taxed the Kurths $900,000 for having possessed marijuana. The Kurths filed for bankruptcy. In the bankruptcy case, the Kurths contested the validity of the tax bill. The bankruptcy court found that (1) the tax was actually a punishment, (2) the Kurths had already been sentenced once for possessing the marijuana, and (3) imposing a second punishment on the Kurths for the same drug-possession offense violated the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution. The district court and the Ninth Circuit affirmed the bankruptcy court’s ruling. In contrast, in two separate cases, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that the drug-possession tax was a regular tax, not a punishment. The United States Supreme Court agreed to review whether the drug tax was a form of punishment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Stevens, J.)
Dissent (Rehnquist, C.J.)
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