Also known as: principle of proportionality · proportionality · proportionality doctrine
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
A narrow constitutional limit under the Eighth Amendment that forbids only extreme sentences grossly disproportionate to the crime. The principle does not require strict equivalence between offense and punishment and applies most clearly to capital cases while extending in limited form to terms of years.
A narrow constitutional limit under the Eighth Amendment that forbids only extreme sentences grossly disproportionate to the crime. The principle does not require strict equivalence between offense and punishment and applies most clearly to capital cases while extending in limited form to terms of years.
Pierre Poulin, a repeat offender, passed a bad check for $150. Under a recidivist statute he received life without parole. The court examined whether the sentence was grossly disproportionate to the offense given his criminal history and the state's interest in incapacitating habitual offenders.
A requirement that government exactions demanded in exchange for land-use permits bear an essential nexus and rough proportionality to the projected impacts of the proposed development. Refusal to issue a permit because an applicant rejects conditions lacking the required nexus or proportionality constitutes a taking.
Platinum Partners sought a building permit to expand a warehouse into a mixed-use development. The city conditioned approval on payment of $250,000 toward unrelated park improvements miles away. When Platinum Partners refused, the city denied the permit. The denial triggered scrutiny because the monetary demand lacked rough proportionality to traffic or green-space impacts from the project.
A limit on the scope of discovery requiring that requested information be proportional to the needs of the case after weighing factors such as importance of the issues, amount in controversy, parties' resources, and burden versus likely benefit.
Discovery must be limited to information that is proportional to the needs of the case. Courts weigh the importance of the issues, amount in controversy, parties' resources, and whether the burden outweighs the likely benefit.
A requirement that government exactions demanded in exchange for land-use permits bear an essential nexus and rough proportionality to the projected impacts of the proposed development. Refusal to issue a permit because an applicant rejects conditions lacking the required nexus or proportionality constitutes a taking.
A limit on the scope of discovery requiring that requested information be proportional to the needs of the case after weighing factors such as importance of the issues, amount in controversy, parties' resources, and burden versus likely benefit.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Portia Price, convicted of murder during a robbery, presented statistical evidence that defendants who killed white victims received death sentences more often than those who killed Black victims. The court assessed whether the data established that her sentence was disproportionate under the Eighth Amendment.
Phuong Pham was convicted of drug trafficking. The court applied mandatory guidelines that increased his sentence based on judge-found facts. The proportionality principle informed whether the resulting term remained within constitutional bounds after the guidelines were rendered advisory.
Pamela Phillips, convicted of murder committed at age seventeen, faced capital punishment. The court weighed whether evolving standards of decency rendered the sentence grossly disproportionate for juvenile offenders under the Eighth Amendment.
Paula Pierce challenged a zoning ordinance that prevented expansion of a church building. She argued the restriction imposed a burden on religious exercise that lacked proportionality to the city's asserted interests under applicable constitutional standards.
No. The Eighth Amendment contains only a narrow proportionality principle that forbids extreme sentences grossly disproportionate to the crime. It does not demand strict proportionality between offense and punishment.
A monetary exaction violates the principle when it lacks rough proportionality to the projected impacts of the development. Refusal to issue the permit because the applicant rejects such a condition constitutes a taking.
…where it lies. Katzenbach , supra , at 326. But the distinction exists and must be observed. There must be a congruence and proportionality between the injury to be prevented or remedied and the means adopted to that end. Lacking such a connection, legislation may become substantive in operation and effect. This case…