(The Center Square) – More than three years ago, tax protester and initiative sponsor Tim Eyman was ordered to pay millions of dollars in fines stemming from Public Disclosure Commission campaign finance violations in 2012.
Now, a court plans to conduct a “trial on paper” to determine whether or not the fines imposed on him were too excessive under state law.
The Washington State Constitution’s Article 1, Section 14 contains a provision that protects individuals from receiving fines considered excessive for several reasons, including too “severe” for the offense committed or regarded as so burdensome it denies them the ability to obtain basic needs. Additionally, the fines must take into account the individual’s ability to pay it.
In his request for remand, Eyman’s legal counsel Richard Saunders, a former State Supreme Court justice, argued that it even if no interest was accrued on the $8 million, he owes in fines and attorneys fees, it would take him 67 years to pay it off if he made $10,000 monthly contributions.
“If that does not demonstrate Mr. Eyman’s lack of ability to pay, your undersigned cannot imagine what would,” the court document states.
The request for remand instead proposes that the court “set the penalty at an amount commensurate with Mr. Eyman’s current financial circumstances.” Eyman, who declared bankruptcy in 2018, produced tax and financial documents demonstrating that he has been “left impoverished and almost destitute.”
The Court of Appeals handed the case to Thurston County Superior Court. At Friday’s hearing, Judge Chris Lanese noted that he would only be looking at the issue of whether or not Eyman was capable of paying the fines based on his financial circumstances at the time they were imposed, rather than his current financial situation. As part of the “trial on paper,” Lanese will examine affidavits and other exhibits submitted by both parties.
Author: TJ Martinell
TJ Martinell is a native to Washington and has been reporting in the state since his high school days. His work has been recognized numerous times by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and the Society for Professional Journalists.
