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Trump's claim after lawyers said it was 'practical impossibility' to pay full amount Judge ordered him to pay $454 million as he appeals Trump lawyers asked to lower amount to $100m Donald Trump claimed he has half a billion dollars in cash in series of furious posts on Truth Social ahead of the deadline to pay the $454million New York fraud fine. The former president didn't mention paying the bond and insisted that a 'substantial amount' of the huge haul of money was set aside for his campaign. He also hinted that New York Attorney General Letitia James and Judge...

The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments, but also mentions “excessive fines” and bail. The “excessive fines” clause surfaces (among other places) in cases of civil and criminal forfeiture. In New York state, Attorney General Letitia James, in coordination with New York Judge Arthur Engoron, are seeking to continue the targeting of President Donald Trump with a series of financial judgements, penalties and control mechanisms intended to isolate the leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate from his wealth. As if something akin to the John Galt character in Atlas Shrugged was coming to life, no American individual has ever faced...

On Tuesday afternoon, coming after a New York judge ruled that $354 million must be paid in a civil case against him, Donald Trump posted a screenshot of the 8th Amendment to Truth Social that forbids "excessive fines" for the punishment of crimes. Text of the amendment in the Constitution's Bill of Rights reads, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." It was posted after Trump was fined over $350 million in the New York City case ruled against him. The ruling came down against Trump from New York Judge Arthur...

took funds from nearly every corner of the Nelsons' world, ... the savings Amy racked up from her decade as a practicing attorney and her later efforts as head of The Riveter, the co-working start-up she founded. But the FBI never even suspected Amy of committing any crime. It was Carl they were investigating—a probe that has not resulted in a single charge against him almost two years ...Whether or not the FBI has come to that conclusion is still a mystery; its years-long investigation into Carl's alleged fraud has not yielded an indictment. Yet no such thing was necessary...

The Justice Department is discouraging state court systems from jailing defendants who fail to pay fines or fees, warning against practices that it says run afoul of the Constitution and erode community trust. A letter being sent Monday by the federal government to state court administrators makes clear that judges should consider alternatives to jail for poor defendants who don’t pay their fines. It also says defendants should not be locked up without a judge first establishing that a defendant who failed to pay did so willfully. […] The new guidance comes amid concerns that some local courts are effectively...

Each day, thousands of cars—sometimes as many as 18,000—rolled along Elmwood Place’s streets, crossing the third-of-a-mile town to get to neighboring Cincinnati or major employers in bustling suburbs or heavily traveled Interstate 75. Many zipped by Elmwood Place’s modest homes and small businesses at speeds well above the 25 mph limit. Bedeviled by tight budgets, the police force was undermanned. The situation, villagers feared, was dangerous. Then the cameras were turned on, and all hell broke loose. Like hundreds of other U.S. communities big and small, Elmwood Place hired an outside company to install cameras to record traffic violations and...

MINNEAPOLIS – A replay of the nation's only file-sharing case to go to trial has ended with the same result — a Minnesota woman was found to have violated music copyrights and must pay huge damages to the recording industry. A federal jury ruled Thursday that Jammie Thomas-Rasset willfully violated the copyrights on 24 songs, and awarded recording companies $1.92 million, or $80,000 per song. Thomas-Rasset's second trial actually turned out worse for her. When a different federal jury heard her case in 2007, it hit Thomas-Rasset with a $222,000 judgment.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ohio -- A broken road reflector cost Paul Holden the price a new tire, and now it could cost him his home. That's the threat from the Ohio Attorney General if Holden doesn't pay another $24.66 the state says it spent investigating his claim for the flat tire. > Then more bills started coming from the state. The first was for an additional $22.00 for the state's investigation. Ohio officials were even charging Holden more than $6.00 in postage for letters they sent to him, including the bills. Each subsequent bill added more fees, and a few cents in...