Limits on criminal fines
Leonard Paul Moody v. Florida
In brief
- Where it stands
- Petition Pending
Awaiting an order on the petition
- What it’s about
- Leonard Paul Moody, a Florida criminal defendant, asks the Supreme Court to review a state appeals court ruling involving mandatory fines and surcharges, including whether they could be imposed without considering proportionality or his ability to pay.
- What's at stake
- Moody's challenges to the fines and his claim about jury size remain unresolved.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
He also claims he was denied a 12-person jury; he filed a petition for Supreme Court review and a request to proceed without paying fees.
Moody relies on the Constitution's ban on excessive fines and cites the Supreme Court's 1998 decision in United States v. Bajakajian.
Question presented
1. Whether the state court erred in upholding, contrary to U.S. v. Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321 (1998), and the Excessive Fines Clause, a mandatory fine pursuant to a statute that does not allow any proportionality considerations? 2. Whether the state court erred in affirming, contrary to the holdings of the supreme courts of other states and the Excessive Fines Clause, fines and surcharges imposed under statutes that do not allow consideration of the defendant’s ability to pay? 3. Whether Petitioner was deprived of his right, under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, to a trial by a 12-person jury?
What happens next
The next step is for the Court to decide whether to hear the petition. No oral argument is scheduled.
Documents
Docket activity
New analysis added
AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
Case data updated: summary, question_presented, generation_metadata
Case data updated: question_presented, extraction_metadata
Brief added: Petition
More questions
- What does Moody argue about the fines?
- He argues that one mandatory fine could be imposed without considering whether it was proportionate, and that fines and surcharges could be imposed without considering his ability to pay.
Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.