Alaska pilot seeks SCOTUS relief in case in which three beer cases led to forfeiture of $95K plane

An 82-year-old Alaskan bush pilot is seeking to take his fight over a $95,000 airplane and a few cans of beer to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to his lawyers.

With the help of the Institute for Justice, Kenneth Jouppi is appealing a ruling by the Alaska Supreme Court that upheld the forfeiture of his aircraft, a punishment that, according to a release shared on the institute’s website, he says violates the Constitution’s protection against excessive fines.

On April 3, 2012, Jouppi, an Air Force veteran and owner of KenAir LLC, was set to fly a passenger and her groceries from Fairbanks to Beaver, a small remote Alaskan village about 110 miles north.

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Kenneth Jouppi unknowingly transported alcohol to a dry Alaskan village and is now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Kenneth Jouppi/Institute for Justice)

“Hidden in the passenger’s luggage, though, were three cases of beer, two Budweiser and one Bud Light, intended as a gift to her husband, who worked in Beaver as the local postmaster,” the Institute for Justice’s release said.

Before Jouppi could take off, Alaska State Troopers searched the plane and found the beer. Jouppi insisted he had no knowledge of it, but prosecutors charged him with knowingly transporting alcohol into a dry village.

Beaver voted in 2004 to ban alcohol importation.  Jouppi was convicted, fined $1,500 and sentenced to three days in jail, which is the statutory minimum penalty.

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The Institute for Justice is helping Kenneth Jouppi petition the U.S. Supreme Court. (Kenneth Jouppi/Institute for Justice)

According to court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital, prosecutors moved to seize Jouppi’s Cessna U206D aircraft, valued at approximately $95,000, under Alaska Statute 04.16.220(a)(3)(C), which mandates forfeiture of vehicles used to transport alcohol illegally.

Lower courts initially sided with Jouppi, finding that confiscating an entire airplane over the cases of beer was excessive. 

But, in 2024, the Alaska Supreme Court reversed the decision. The justices acknowledged that forfeiture is a form of fine under the Eighth Amendment but ruled that it was not grossly disproportional to the offense.

In June 2025, Jouppi then filed his petition with the U.S. Supreme Court. 

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The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., June 24, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

According to the Institute for Justice, Jouppi’s case is about more than one man’s airplane, but about safeguarding Americans from excessive financial penalties imposed by the government.

“Ken is not giving up the fight. Instead, he’s partnered with the Institute for Justice to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and give much-needed clarity to what constitutes an unconstitutionally excessive fine,” a spokesperson said.

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“In an era where enforcement agencies (in the Supreme Court’s words) ‘increasingly depend heavily on fines and fees as a source of general revenue,’ it’s critical that the Court invigorate the Bill of Rights’ Excessive Fines Clause in a way that better secures protections for ordinary people nationwide.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Institute for Justice for further comment.