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It overturned a $ 4 million punitive-damage award to an Alabama man who had sued a BMW dealer for selling him a repainted car instead of a new one.For the first time , the court declared that the constitutional right to due process of law meant that companies may not be subject to disproportionate punitive damages.In 2003 , the court broadly defined what qualifies as an excessive award , suggesting that punitive damages should normally be no more than nine times as large as compensatory damages . " Although Bush acknowledged two weeks ago that " mistakes have been made " in Iraq , he appeared unchastened last night and took no responsibility for his party 's defeat or errors in office.Democrats seemed unimpressed by his latest governing blueprint and signaled that they are in no mood to meet him in the middle . Southern racists , worried that new judges might rule against them , wanted an opportunity to ferret out potential opponents.Wittes argues that a return to the pre - Brown process , which would mean " either eliminating - - or at least limiting - - live testimony of nominees at their hearings , " would " remove the central event " from what is now " an embarrassing spectacle that yields minimal information " about the nominees . TALLAHASSEE , Florida ( Reuters ) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Wednesday said he would propose abandoning touch-screen voting machines adopted after the disputed 2000 presidential race and replacing them with devices that provide a paper record.In response to intense criticism over the 2000 race - - when a recount dispute focusing Florida 's " hanging chads " and inscrutable ballots was resolved by the Supreme Court - - election supervisors in 15 counties spent millions on touch-screen technology , which itself has come under fire .