In a number of cases, the Court has indicated that a 4:1 ratio between punitive and compensatory damages is high enough to lead to a finding of constitutional impropriety and that any ratio of 10:1 or higher is almost certainly unconstitutional.
在許多案件中，法院指出了 4:1 的懲罰性損害賠償金與補償性損害賠償金比例是足夠被認為高到了憲法意義下不正當的程度了，而 10:1 幾乎可被認為是當然違憲的。