Whether a reviewing court may consider factors beyond those identified in United States v. Bajakajian when determining if a criminal fine is disproportionate under the Eighth Amendment

QUESTION PRESENTED When deciding whether a criminal fine is disproportionate to the gravity of a defendant’s crime, and thereby unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment, may a reviewing court look beyond and consider more than the four factors identified in United States v. Bajakajian, 118 S. Ct. 2028 (1998); that is, are the Bajakajian factors exhaustive, such that a reviewing court is strictly limited to a narrow comparison between the amount of a fine and the characteristics of the offense; or, may a reviewing court accept, entertain, and consider other matters in addition to the enumerated Bajakajian factors when answering an Eighth Amendment challenge to a fine as excessive? ii PROCEEDINGS IN FEDERAL TRIAL AND APPELLATE COURTS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THIS CASE Petitioner, Danny McLaughlin, was the criminal defendant in the district court and the appellant in the court of appeals. Respondent, the United States of America, was the prosecutor and plaintiff in the district court and the appellee in the court of appeals. The related cases include the following: United States District Court (M.D. Fla. (Orlando Division)): United States v. Danny James McLaughlin, Case No. United States Court of Appeals (11th Cir.): United States v. Danny James McLaughlin, 847 F. App’x 573 (11th Cir. 2021), and also available at 2021 WL 567528 (11th Cir. Feb. 16, 2021) (unpublished).