In the recently decided case U.S. v. Chavarria, a Tenth Circuit panel (per Judge Tymkovich) held that a crime does not have sufficient nexus to interstate commerce to make it federal just because the defendants used a car. From the introduction:
Defendants Jerrold Chavarria and Jerry Romero are alleged to have kidnapped and brutally murdered a woman in Eddy County, New Mexico. Instead of state kidnapping charges, Mr. Chavarria and Mr. Romero were charged with the federal crime of kidnapping resulting in death. 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a). But kidnapping is normally a state crime for a reason. Federal crimes require some sort of jurisdictional hook to sort the prohibited activity into one of the government’s enumerated and limited powers, such as its power over interstate commerce.
The superseding indictment alleged that “in committing and in furtherance of the commission of the offense, [Mr. Chavarria and Mr. Romero] used a motor vehicle, a means, facility, and instrumentality of interstate commerce.” App. R. 12. But it lacked any details about how this kidnapping affected commerce in any way. The district court dismissed the superseding indictment because it lacked an adequate nexus to interstate commerce. We agree with the district court.
Allowing the government to bring charges based on the use of any ordinary motor vehicle (here, a Jeep) to commit a purely intrastate crime would transform any crime that uses a vehicle into a federal matter. For this indictment to be valid, it must be true that every motor vehicle is a “means, facility, and instrumentality of interstate commerce.” We hold they are not. That interpretation—unbound by a cognizable limiting principle—stretches Congress’s authority beyond the Constitution’s boundaries. We therefore AFFIRM dismissal of the superseding indictment.
Sounds right to me.
(Via John Ross' Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal. He adds: "Arguable circuit split alert! Check out the Sixth and Seventh circuits.")
Posted at 6:08 AM