The U.S. Supreme Court could decide as early as October whether to hear a Humboldt County case that challenges cannabis-related fines and seeks to expand the right to a jury trial in civil cases involving local governments.
The petitioners argue that the right to a jury trial, as granted by the U.S. Constitution's Seventh Amendment, should apply in civil cases involving local governments.
They are fighting large fines from Humboldt County for code violations related to illegal cannabis growing, which they say were caused by previous property owners’ actions.
The class-action lawsuit is moving forward in federal court. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t allow a challenge to the fines on Seventh Amendment grounds, citing a precedent set more than 100 years ago.
A petition filed by the Institute for Justice on behalf of the residents aims to change that precedent and expand the right to a jury trial to the local level, a process known as incorporation.
The Supreme Court has already applied most constitutional amendments to the states. In 2019, it incorporated the Eighth Amendment’s protection against excessive fines.
Rob Johnson, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, said a jury trial is important for a fair decision in Humboldt County.
“Rather than getting to present your defense to a jury that is drawn from the community, instead you're actually having to defend yourself before a lawyer, who's employed by the same city that's trying to take your money through these fines,” Johnson said.
His organization claims its clients are facing millions of dollars in fines for allegedly growing cannabis based on county drone and satellite footage.
The Supreme Court has a few options, according to Johnson. It could deny the petition, delay making a decision on whether to hear the case or accept the petition and schedule oral arguments for the case.
Humboldt County has filed a brief asking the court to not consider the petition.
“Whatever the merits of Petitioners’ contention that the Fourteenth Amendment was intended by its framers and ratifiers to impose the Seventh Amendment and its $20 threshold for a jury in a civil case on the 50 states and their myriad local governments, this is not the right time or vehicle to entertain the question,” according to the county’s petition."
