Due Process—Civil Sanctions

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger, No. 15-1406

Federal courts possess the inherent authority to sanction parties for misconduct. Such sanctions can be compensatory or punitive, but punitive sanctions can be entered only if the party facing sanctions is accorded the procedural due process rights ordinarily associated with criminal defendants. The Court has granted certiorari to address whether the amount of compensatory sanctions—i.e., those that do not accord the protections of criminal due process—must be tailored to the harm directly caused by the sanctionable misconduct.