The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution was written to protect the accused from the government imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments.
It’s based on English law that aims to prevent government abuse.
A prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment” first appeared in the English Bill of Rights, in 1689. The ban was adopted by American colonists in some colonial legislation and was also included in most of the original state constitutions.
It became part of the U.S. Bill of Rights in 1791 as the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
Despite President Donald J. Trump’s constitutional rights, New York State Judge Arthur Engoron ruled on Friday that Mr. Trump owes a staggering $354 million, plus accruing interest.
The controversy that followed the ruling, which has taken the nation by storm, is that even though there were no financial victims in this civil case, the loans Trump took out and paid back with interest in New York State were still used to charge the Billionaire business mogul with fraud.
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In his 2021 statement of financial condition, Trump said he had just under $300 million in “cash and cash equivalents.” He has since sold off his New York golf course and his Washington, D.C., hotel, and may also soon get a windfall when his social media company, Truth Social, goes public.
But even with those income streams, it’s unclear whether Trump and his family members have enough cash on hand to pay all the money they now owe.
The verdict in the civil fraud trial requires Trump to pay interest on some of the deal profits he has been ordered to give up. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case, said the interest payments totaled $99 million and would “continue to increase every single day until it is paid.”
Between Friday’s ruling and the two judgments in Carroll’s case, Trump would be on the hook for about $542 million in legal judgments.
On Tuesday, President Trump posted a screenshot of the 8th Amendment on Truth Social that forbids “excessive fines” for the punishment of crimes.
New York Attorney General Letitia James who brought the case against Trump, claimed he fraudulently inflated the value of the assets of his businesses in New York City to get better loans.
She made numerous anti-Trump statements while running for her current position in 2018.
According to the Associated Press, the fine and punishment for the former president would be an anomaly among 70 years of case history.
“An Associated Press analysis of nearly 70 years of civil cases under the law showed that such a penalty has only been imposed a dozen previous times, and Trump’s case stands apart in a significant way: It’s the only big business found that was threatened with a shutdown without a showing of obvious victims and major losses.”
Lawyers for the state in Trump’s monthslong civil trial have argued that the principles of fair play in business alone are enough to justify a harsh penalty, but even they aren’t calling for the prospect of liquidation of his businesses and properties raised by a judge.”
“And some legal experts worry that if the judge goes out of his way to punish the former president with that worst-case scenario, it could make it easier for courts to wipe out companies in the future.”
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