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One Terrorist Case Down

By Kent Scheidegger et al.

The United States Supreme Court issued three decisions in criminal cases today. This post describes one of them. Although the Gitmo habeas case remains pending, the high court did decide the case of another terrorist, Ahmed Ressam. He falsely stated his name and nationality when entering the United States from Canada. And, oh, by the way, he had a trunk full of explosives with which he intended to blow up LAX. An additional ten years in prison is provided by 18 U.S.C. § 844(h) for "Whoever ... (2) carries an explosive during the commission of any felony which may be prosecuted in a court of the United States...." This is a fine example of the sentence enhancement tail wagging the offense dog, but it's constitutional as long as the jury finds the requisite facts beyond a reasonable doubt...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime and Consequences on May 19, 2008 (boomark / email).