Cite as: 517 U. S. 559 (1996)
Scalia, J., dissenting
tive sanctions provided for comparable misconduct. Ante, at 574-585. The legal significance of these "guideposts" is nowhere explored, but their necessary effect is to establish federal standards governing the hitherto exclusively state law of damages. Apparently (though it is by no means clear) all three federal "guideposts" can be overridden if "necessary to deter future misconduct," ante, at 584—a loophole that will encourage state reviewing courts to uphold awards as necessary for the "adequat[e] protect[ion]" of state consumers, ibid. By effectively requiring state reviewing courts to concoct rationalizations—whether within the "guideposts" or through the loophole—to justify the intuitive punitive reactions of state juries, the Court accords neither category of institution the respect it deserves.
Of course it will not be easy for the States to comply with this new federal law of damages, no matter how willing they are to do so. In truth, the "guideposts" mark a road to nowhere; they provide no real guidance at all. As to "degree of reprehensibility" of the defendant's conduct, we learn that " 'nonviolent crimes are less serious than crimes marked by violence or the threat of violence,' " ante, at 576 (quoting Solem v. Helm, 463 U. S. 277, 292-293 (1983)), and that " 'trickery and deceit' " are "more reprehensible than negligence," ante, at 576. As to the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages, we are told that a " 'general concer[n] of reasonableness . . . enter[s] into the constitutional calculus,' " ante, at 583 (quoting TXO, 509 U. S., at 458)—though even "a breathtaking 500 to 1" will not necessarily do anything more than " 'raise a suspicious judicial eyebrow,' " ante, at 583 (quoting TXO, supra, at 481 (O'Connor, J., dissenting), an opinion which, when confronted with that "breathtaking" ratio, approved it). And as to legislative sanctions provided for comparable misconduct, they should be accorded " 'substantial deference,' " ante, at 583 (quoting Browning-Ferris Industries of Vt., Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc., 492 U. S. 257, 301 (1989) (O'Connor, J., concurring in part and dissenting
605
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