A significant civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump has been overturned by an appeals court, marking a major triumph for Trump against the legal challenges he faced prior to his anticipated 2024 election success.

On Thursday, a group of five judges from New York’s Appellate Division determined that the initial ruling from New York Attorney General Letitia (Tish) James, made in Judge Arthur Engoron’s courtroom, was “excessive.”

The fine could have cost Trump well over half a billion dollars, the Associated Press reported.

“Although the injunctive relief implemented by the court is appropriately designed to address the defendants’ business practices, the court’s order for disgorgement, demanding defendants pay almost half a billion dollars to the State of New York, constitutes an excessive fine that breaches the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” stated Judges Dianne Renwick and Peter Moulton in their opinion that guided the appeals court’s decision.

“The judge found the penalty to be cruel and unusual, infringing on the Eighth Amendment,” shared News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow on X following the judgment. “This is precisely the argument I presented in my NYT bestseller BREAKING THE LAW!”

Marlow has called for James, the New York Attorney General, to be investigated.