Cite as: 509 U. S. 443 (1993)
O'Connor, J., dissenting
preference. One judge's excess very well may be another's moderation. To avoid that element of subjectivity, our " 'judgment[s] should be informed by objective factors to the maximum possible extent.' " 445 U. S., at 274-275 (quoting same). As the plurality points out, ante, at 455-456, TXO directs our attention to various objective indicators, including the relationship between the punitive damages award and compensatory damages, awards of punitive damages upheld against other defendants in the same jurisdiction, awards upheld for similar torts in other jurisdictions, and legislatively designated penalties for similar misconduct. While these factors by no means exhaust the due process inquiry, they are quite probative. It is to their proper application that I now turn.
A
In my view, due process at least requires judges to engage in searching review where the verdict discloses such great disproportions as to suggest the possibility of bias, caprice, or passion. As Justice Stevens observed in a different context, "[o]ne need not use Justice Stewart's classic definition of obscenity—'I know it when I see it'—as an ultimate standard for judging" the constitutionality of a punitive damages verdict "to recognize that the dramatically irregular" size and nature of an award "may have sufficient probative force to call for an explanation." Cf. Karcher v. Daggett, 462 U. S. 725, 755 (1983) (concurring opinion) (footnotes omitted).
This $10 million punitive award, returned in a case involving only $19,000 in compensatory damages, is a dramatically irregular, if not shocking, verdict by any measure. At the very least it should raise a suspicious judicial eyebrow. Not only does the punitive award represent over 500 times actual damages, but it also exceeds economic harm by over $9.98 million. Thus, it cannot be accepted as bearing the "understandable relationship to compensatory damages," 499 U. S., at 22, the Court found sufficient in Haslip. Indeed, in Has-
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