Garcia et al. v. United States (469 U.S. 70)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided December 10, 1984 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 469 U.S. 70 · 105 S. Ct. 479
- Decided
- December 10, 1984
- Term
- October Term 1984
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Rehnquist
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court. Petitioners assaulted an undercover United States Secret Service agent with a loaded pistol, in an attempt to rob him of $1,800 of Government “flash money” that the agent was using to buy counterfeit currency from them. They were convicted of violating 18 U. S. C. § 2114, which proscribes the assault and robbery of any custodian of “mail matter or of any money or other property of the United States.” The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed petitioners’ convictions, over their contention that § 2114 is limited to crimes involving the Postal Service. 718 F. 2d 1528 (1983). We granted certiorari, 466 U. S. 926 (1984), to resolve a split in the Circuits concerning the reach of § 2114, and we affirm. Agent K. David Holmes of the United States Secret Service posed as someone interested in purchasing counterfeit currency. He met petitioners Jose and Francisco Garcia in a park in Miami, Fla. Petitioners agreed to sell Holmes a large quantity of counterfeit currency, and asked that he show them the genuine currency he intended to give in exchange. He “flashed” the $1,800 of money to which he had been entrusted by the United States, and they showed him a sample of their wares — a counterfeit $50 bill. Wrangling over the terms of the agreement began, and Jose Garcia leapt in front of Holmes brandishing a…
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