United States v. Ahmed Ressam (553 U.S. 272)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 19, 2008 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 553 U.S. 272 · 128 S. Ct. 1858
- Decided
- May 19, 2008
- Term
- October Term 2007
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. Respondent attempted to enter the United States by car ferry at Port Angeles, Washington. Hidden in the trunk of his rental car were explosives that he intended to detonate at the Los Angeles International Airport. After the ferry docked, respondent was questioned by a customs official, who instructed him to complete a customs declaration form; respondent did so, identifying himself on the form as a Canadian citizen (he is Algerian) named Benni Noris (his name is Ahmed Ressam). Respondent was then directed to a secondary inspection station, where another official performed a search of his car. The official discovered explosives and related items in the car’s spare tire well. Respondent was subsequently convicted of a number of crimes, including the felony of making a false statement to a United States customs official in violation of 18 U. S. C. § 1001 (1994 ed., Supp. V) (Count 5) and carrying an explosive “during the commission of” that felony in violation of § 844(h)(2) (1994 ed.) (Count 9). The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit set aside his conviction on Count 9 because it read the word “during,” as used in § 844(h)(2), to include a requirement that the explosive be carried “in relation to” the underlying felony. 474 F. 3d 597, 601 (2007). Because that construction of the statute conflicted with decisions of other…
Excerpt of a 9,132-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.