Honda Motor Co., Ltd. v. Oberg, 114 S.Ct. 2331 (1994), addresses a 1910 amendment to the Oregon constitution which limits judicial review of punitive damage awards. Under the amendment, judges could review jury findings only when the court could affirmatively state that there is no evidence to support the verdict. Accordingly, judges could not reduce awards that were inflated by passion or prejudice.
In finding the amendment unconstitutional, the Supreme Court noted the extensive common law history which allows review of excessive damage awards. given this historical precedent, the Supreme Court found that to deny a person this procedural safeguard of common law equaled a deprivation of due process.
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