Cite as: 517 U. S. 559 (1996)
Ginsburg, J., dissenting
for this mission. Tellingly, the Court repeats that it brings to the task no "mathematical formula," ante, at 582, no "categorical approach," ibid., no "bright line," ante, at 585. It has only a vague concept of substantive due process, a "raised eyebrow" test, see ante, at 583, as its ultimate guide.5
In contrast to habeas corpus review under 28 U. S. C. § 2254, the Court will work at this business alone. It will not be aided by the federal district courts and courts of appeals. It will be the only federal court policing the area. The Court's readiness to superintend state-court punitive damages awards is all the more puzzling in view of the Court's longstanding reluctance to countenance review, even by courts of appeals, of the size of verdicts returned by juries in federal district court proceedings. See generally 11 C. Wright, A. Miller, & M. Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2820 (2d ed. 1995). And the reexamination prominent in state courts 6 and in legislative arenas, see Appendix,
should be taken into account in mitigation of the punitive damages award." 646 So. 2d, at 624. The Alabama court accordingly observed that Gore's counsel had filed 24 other actions against BMW in Alabama and Georgia, but that no other punitive damages award had so far resulted. Id., at 626.
5 Justice Breyer's concurring opinion offers nothing more solid. Under Pacific Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Haslip, 499 U. S. 1 (1991), he acknowledges, Alabama's standards for punitive damages, standing alone, do not violate due process. Ante, at 588. But they "invit[e] the kind of scrutiny the Court has given the particular verdict before us." Ibid. Pursuing that invitation, Justice Breyer concludes that, matching the particular facts of this case to Alabama's "legitimate punitive damages objectives," ante, at 596, the award was " 'gross[ly] excessiv[e],' " ante, at 597. The exercise is engaging, but ultimately tells us only this: too big will be judged unfair. What is the Court's measure of too big? Not a cap of the kind a legislature could order, or a mathematical test this Court can divine and impose. Too big is, in the end, the amount at which five Members of the Court bridle.
6 See, e. g., Distinctive Printing and Packaging Co. v. Cox, 232 Neb. 846, 857, 443 N. W. 2d 566, 574 (1989) (per curiam) ("[P]unitive, vindictive, or exemplary damages contravene Neb. Const. art. VII, § 5, and thus are not allowed in this jurisdiction."); Santana v. Registrars of Voters of Worcester, 398 Mass. 862, 502 N. E. 2d 132 (1986) (punitive damages are not permitted, unless expressly authorized by statute); Fisher Properties, Inc. v.
613
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