It's been 13 years since Kenneth Jouppi's legal journey began. After losing before the Alaska Supreme Court on April 18, 2025, the pilot hopes to make at least one more stop before the U.S. Supreme Court. If so, Jouppi may have to fly commercial.
A decade of legal battles, judgments, and reversals ended with the Alaska Supreme Court's ruling denying Jouppi's claim that his Eighth Amendment rights against excessive fines were violated. This means the state may claim his plane under forfeiture laws.
While some bemoan government overreach, others argue that the laws in place are working as intended. In any case, those looking to take Alaska up on its "North to the Future" motto will have to look elsewhere for a local flight option.
Keeping Things Dry
In April 2012, Jouppi, the owner and pilot for KenAir LLC, was hired to fly a customer and their cargo from Fairbanks to Beaver, an inland town with a population of under 100. Beaver had used a local option question under Alaska law to prohibit alcohol within its borders, making it a "dry" town.
Among the cargo loaded onto Jouppi's Cessna 206 plane that night were about three cases of beer. While Jouppi testified that he loaded closed boxes and wasn't aware of the beer, the Alaska State Police troopers who observed him and had a warrant said that he opened the boxes. One six-pack was in a plastic bag, which they said was impossible to miss.
That was enough to convince a trial jury that Jouppi was guilty of violating a dry town's laws, even if he was arrested before takeoff and never actually made the delivery. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail (177 were suspended), a fine of $3,000 ($1,500 was suspended), and three years' probation. KenAir LLC was fined $10,000 ($8,500 was suspended), and the court imposed forfeiture of the Cessna 206 as per the letter of Alaska law for violating alcohol prohibition.
On reconsideration, the trial court ruled that the forfeiture statute didn't apply because Jouppi hadn't delivered the alcohol within Beaver's borders. While some thought that would be the end of the story, it was only the beginning.
The Pound of Flesh
The state of Alaska appealed the trial court's ruling on forfeiture, with the appeals court ruling that the statute did indeed apply. Remanded to the trial court, Jouppi once again prevailed by citing a violation of the protection against excessive fines in the Eighth Amendment. Jouppi's plane was valued at $95,000. The maximum fine under the bootlegging misdemeanor Jouppi was guilty of is $10,000.
The state appealed, and once again the court of appeals vacated the lower court's ruling and remanded the case. It stated that the trial court hadn't properly applied the test for excessiveness determined by the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Bajakajian. In a partial dissent, one judge on the panel felt the forfeiture of the plane wouldn't have been excessive.
Both the state and Jouppi petitioned the Alaska Supreme Court. The court determined that the forfeiture met the standard under United States v. Bajakajian, as it wasn't punitive, and because of the seriousness of violating a no-alcohol prohibition. Ruling that the loss of the plane would not deprive Jouppi of his livelihood, they did not remand on the issue of forfeiture to the trial court.
Who Gets The Plane?
The issue of whether the state will seize the plane in its entirety or instead assess a way to extract $10,000 (the fine limit of the statute) of its value was remanded to the appeals court. While some may raise an eyebrow at so much time and effort spent over 72 beers, the Alaska statutes protecting jurisdictions that choose an alcohol-free local option are very clear about penalties for violations.
Now 82, it's not clear how much more flying Jouppi intends to do anyway. Regardless, he's looking to buck the long odds of getting his case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. If he's successful, let's hope his celebratory beer isn't in a dry town.
Related Resources
- What Is Civil Asset Forfeiture? (FindLaw's Criminal Rights Law)
- Petitioning and Opposing Certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court (FindLaw's Supreme Court)
- Smuggling and Customs Violations (FindLaw's Criminal Charges)
