Also known as: general principles of proportionality · principle of proportionality · proportionality principle · proportionality
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A constitutional limitation under the Eighth Amendment requiring that the severity of a criminal sentence not be grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the offense committed.
A constitutional limitation under the Eighth Amendment requiring that the severity of a criminal sentence not be grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the offense committed.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A requirement that government-imposed conditions on land-use permits, including dedications of property or monetary exactions, bear a rough proportionality to the projected impacts of the proposed development.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A requirement that government-imposed conditions on land-use permits, including dedications of property or monetary exactions, bear a rough proportionality to the projected impacts of the proposed development.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Gwen Gallagher accumulated seven nonviolent convictions over fifteen years, the last involving a forged check for $150. South Dakota imposed life imprisonment without parole under its recidivist statute. The sentence was invalidated because it was grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the underlying offenses.
Giselle Guerrero was convicted of murder during an armed robbery after the jury found multiple aggravating factors. Georgia imposed the death penalty. The sentence satisfied proportionality because the crime involved intentional killing and statutory aggravators.
Gordon Gray, a Black defendant, was sentenced to death for killing a white victim during a robbery. Statistical evidence showed racial disparities in capital sentencing. The claim failed because the evidence did not prove that race impermissibly influenced the decision in his particular case.
Giana Greco was convicted of drug trafficking and received an enhanced sentence based on judge-found facts under the federal guidelines. The mandatory guidelines were invalidated because they permitted punishment increases without jury findings, violating the Sixth Amendment.
Grace Gupta, age seventeen at the time of the offense, was sentenced to death for murder. The sentence was invalidated because executing offenders who were juveniles at the time of their crimes constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under evolving standards of decency.
Yes. The Eighth Amendment text and history impose parallel limitations on bail, fines, and imprisonment, so grossly disproportionate prison terms are subject to constitutional challenge.
Supporting sources
Courts examine the gravity of the offense, the harshness of the penalty, sentences imposed on other criminals in the same jurisdiction, and sentences imposed for the same crime in other jurisdictions.
Supporting sources
Granite Holdings sought a building permit to expand its warehouse. The city demanded dedication of a large strip of land for a public trail even though the expansion would add only modest traffic. When Granite Holdings refused the condition, the city denied the permit. Granite Holdings prevailed because the demanded exaction failed the required proportionality test.
No. The same nexus and rough-proportionality standards govern demands for monetary payments as well as real-property dedications.
Supporting sources
The government's denial of the permit on that basis itself constitutes a taking that is subject to scrutiny under the exactions doctrine.
Supporting sources
…imposed upon a soldier who escaped from an Army stockade and became a deserter for one day. Although the concept of proportionality was not the basis of the holding, the plurality observed in dicta that "[f]ines, imprisonment and even execution may be imposed depending upon the enormity of the crime." 356 U. S., at…