Debra Faye Lewis v. United States (523 U.S. 155)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 9, 1998 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 523 U.S. 155 · 118 S. Ct. 1135
- Decided
- March 9, 1998
- Term
- October Term 1997
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority author
- Justice Breyer
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court. ' The federal Assimilative Crimes Act (ACA or Act) assimilates into federal law, and thereby makes applicable on federal enclaves such as Army bases, certain criminal laws of the State in which the enclave is located. It says: “Whoever within or upon any [federal enclave] is guilty of any act or omission which, although not made punishable by any enactment of Congress, would be punishable if committed or omitted within the jurisdiction of the State ... in which such place is situated, . . . shall be guilty of a like offense and subject to like punishment.” 18U.S. C. § 13(a). The question in this case is whether the ACA makes applicable on a federal Army base located in Louisiana a state first-degree murder statute that defines first-degree murder to include the “killing of a human being . . . [w]hen the offender has the specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm upon a victim under the age of twelve_” La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 14:30(A)(5) (West 1986 and Supp. 1997). We hold that the ACA does not make the state provision part of federal law. A federal murder statute, 18 U. S. C. § 1111, therefore governs the crime at issue — the killing of a 4-year-old child “with malice aforethought” but without “premeditation.” Under that statute this crime is second-degree, not first-degree, murder. I A federal grand jury…
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