Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg takes questions from first-year students at Georgetown Law last September. Wednesday was her second day back at the court after lung cancer surgery.
Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednsesday that the Constitution’s ban on excessive fines applies to state and local governments, thus limiting their ability to use fines to raise revenue.

The court’s decision, written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was announced by her on her second day back at the court. Ginsburg missed in-person arguments at the court for the first time in her quarter century on the Supreme Court bench after undergoing surgery for lung cancer late last year.

The court’s opinion came in the case of Tyson Timbs, whose $42,000 Land Rover was seized by the state of Indiana after he was arrested for selling a small amount of heroin to undercover cops for $400.

An Indiana trial court ruled that the fine was grossly disproportionate punishment on top of other fines and a year of house detention. The state Supreme Court […]