United States v. Hosep Krikor Bajakajian

Decided June 22, 1998. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 96-1487 · 524 U.S. 321 (1998) · Cited 1,395 times

Holding

Full forfeiture of respondent's $357,144 would violate the Excessive Fines Clause.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• One Lot Emerald Cut Stones and One Ring v. United States · 409 U.S. 232 (1972)
• Austin v. United States · 509 U.S. 602 (1993)
• Solem v. Helm · 463 U.S. 277 (1983)
• Browning-Ferris Industries of Vermont, Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc. · 492 U.S. 257 (1989)
• United States v. Ursery · 518 U.S. 267 (1996)
• The Palmyra · 25 U.S. 1 (1827)
• Anderson v. City of Bessemer City · 470 U.S. 564 (1985)
• Ornelas v. United States · 517 U.S. 690 (1996)
• Rummel v. Estelle · 445 U.S. 263 (1980)
• Calero-Toledo v. Pearson Yacht Leasing Co. · 416 U.S. 663 (1974)
• Gore v. United States · 357 U.S. 386 (1958)
• TXO Production Corp. v. Alliance Resources Corp. · 509 U.S. 443 (1993)
• United States v. One Assortment of 89 Firearms · 465 U.S. 354 (1984)
• Alexander v. United States · 509 U.S. 544 (1993)
• J. W. Goldsmith, Jr.-Grant Co. v. United States · 254 U.S. 505 (1921)
• Dobbins's Distillery v. United States · 96 U.S. 395 (1878)
• Various Items of Personal Property v. United States · 282 U.S. 577 (1931)
• Van Oster v. Kansas · 272 U.S. 465 (1926)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. · 532 U.S. 424 (2001)
• Timbs v. Indiana · 586 U.S. 146 (2019)
• Baze v. Rees · 553 U.S. 35 (2008)
• United States v. Santos · 553 U.S. 507 (2008)
• City of Grants Pass v. Johnson · 603 U.S. 520 (2024)
• Kokesh v. SEC · 581 U.S. 455 (2017)
• Ewing v. California · 538 U.S. 11 (2003)
• Erlinger v. United States · 602 U.S. 821 (2024)
• Tyler v. Hennepin County · 598 U.S. 631 (2023)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1998). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).