Southern Union Co. v. United States

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Southern Union Co. v. United States (2012) is a Supreme Court ruling about whether the rule from Apprendi v. New Jersey also applies to criminal fines.

Facts:
- Southern Union was convicted of storing hazardous liquid mercury without a permit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
- The jury did not decide the exact duration of the violation.
- In sentencing, the judge imposed a maximum fine of $38.1 million, calculated as $50,000 for each of 762 days.

Question:
- Must a jury determine the facts (other than prior convictions) that would increase a criminal penalty, including the length of time a violation occurred if that affects the fine?

Lower courts:
- The First Circuit said Apprendi did not apply to criminal fines.

Supreme Court ruling:
- The Court reversed. There is no principled distinction between fines and imprisonment for Apprendi purposes.
- Any fact other than a prior conviction that increases the penalty beyond the statutory maximum must be proved to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt.
- This preserves the jury’s role in deciding important facts that affect punishment when the fine is large enough to trigger the Sixth Amendment jury-trial guarantee.

Decision details:
- 6–3 ruling.
- Majority opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg, and Kagan.

Significance:
- The ruling extends Apprendi’s rule to large criminal fines, ensuring juries decide key facts that raise penalties.