In Aetna Life Ins. Co. v. Lavoie, 475 U. S. 813 (1986), a case that came from the Supreme Court of Alabama, the appellant argued that the imposition of punitive damages was impermissible under the Eighth Amendment and violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court stated: "These arguments raise important issues which, in an appropriate setting, must be resolved; however, our disposition of the recusal-for-bias issue makes it unnecessary to reach them." Id., at 828-829.