Indiana seized Tyson Timbs' $42,000 Land Rover after he sold a small amount of heroin twice to undercover officers. He bought the vehicle with his father's life insurance money. The trial judge said forfeiting the car violated the 8th Amendment's ban on excessive fines. The case reached the Supreme Court.
In Timbs v. Indiana (2019), the Court unanimously ruled the Excessive Fines Clause applies to states and protects against civil asset forfeiture when it's punitive. Timbs got his vehicle back in May 2020. Since 2000, states and the federal government have seized at least $68.8 billion through civil forfeiture. The federal government alone brings in $2 billion annually from forfeited assets.