Frank J. Muscarello v. United States (524 U.S. 125)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 8, 1998 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 524 U.S. 125 · 118 S. Ct. 1911
- Decided
- June 8, 1998
- Term
- October Term 1997
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Breyer
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court. A provision in the firearms chapter of the federal criminal code imposes a 5-year mandatory prison term upon a person who “uses or carries a firearm” “during and in relation to” a “drug trafficking crime.” 18 U. S. C. § 924(c)(1). The question before us is whether the phrase “carries a firearm” is limited to the carrying of firearms on the person. We hold that it is not so limited. Bather, it also applies to a person who knowingly possesses and conveys firearms in a vehicle, including in the locked glove compartment or trunk of a car, which the person accompanies. I The question arises in two eases, which we have consolidated for argument. Petitioner in the first case, Frank J. Muscarello, unlawfully sold marijuana, which he carried in his truck to the place of sale. Police officers found a handgun locked in the truck’s glove compartment. During plea proceedings, Muscarello admitted that he had “carried” the gun “for protection in relation” to the drug offense, App. in No. 96-1654, p. 12, though he later claimed to the contrary, and added that, in any event, his “earrtying]” of the gun in the glove compartment did not fall within the scope of the statutory word “carries.” App. to Pet. for Cert, in No. 96-1654, p. 10a. Petitioners in the second case, Donald Cleveland and Enrique Gray-Santana, placed several guns in a bag, put…
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