350
Kennedy, J., dissenting
(1996). Most forfeitures of proceeds, as a consequence, are not fines at all, let alone excessive fines. Hence, the lawfulness of the money shows at most that the forfeiture was a fine; it cannot at the same time prove that the fine was excessive.
B
1
In assessing whether there is a gross disproportion, the majority concedes, we must grant " 'substantial deference' " to Congress' choice of penalties. Ante, at 336 (quoting Solem, supra, at 290). Yet, ignoring its own command, the Court sweeps aside Congress' reasoned judgment and substitutes arguments that are little more than speculation.
Congress considered currency smuggling and nonre-porting a serious crime and imposed commensurate penalties. It authorized punishments of five years' imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, plus forfeiture of all the undeclared cash. 31 U. S. C. § 5322(a); 18 U. S. C. § 982(a)(1). Congress found the offense standing alone is a serious crime, for the same statute doubles the fines and imprisonment for failures to report cash "while violating another law of the United States." 31 U. S. C. § 5322(b). Congress experimented with lower penalties on the order of one year in prison plus a $1,000 fine, but it found the punishments inadequate to deter lucrative money laundering. See President's Commission on Organized Crime, The Cash Connection: Organized Crime, Financial Institutions, and Money Laundering 27, 60 (Oct. 1984). The Court today rejects this judgment.
The Court rejects the congressional judgment because, it says, the Sentencing Guidelines cap the appropriate fine at $5,000. See ante, at 338-339, and n. 14. The purpose of the Guidelines, however, is to select punishments with precise proportion, not to opine on what is a gross disproportion. In addition, there is no authority for elevating the Commission's judgment of what is prudent over the congressional judg-
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