No. 20-8361

Josh Small and Joni Amber Johnson v. United States

Lower Court: Sixth Circuit
Docketed: 2021-06-21
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP Experienced Counsel
Tags: commerce-clause criminal-law criminal-prosecution federal-jurisdiction interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element kidnapping kidnapping-statute statutory-interpretation
Key Terms:
JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2021-09-27
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Does a purely local home invasion satisfy the interstate commerce nexus element of the federal kidnapping statute?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED 18 U.S.C. § 1201 (the federal kidnapping statute) requires, as an element, a nexus : between the kidnapping and interstate commerce, Does a purely local home : invasion satisfy this jurisdictional element when the only interstate commerce or ' travel involved does not occur when a victim is held for “ransom, reward, or otherwise,” but instead occurs days before and after the invasion? Petitioners : submit it is beyond Congress’s Commerce Clause authority for the federal ; kidnapping statute to capture a purely intrastate crime with so attenuated an interstate nexus. The Sixth Circuit’s decision below vastly expands the scope of the Commerce Clause for criminal prosecutions such that several purely state crimes may now be prosecuted federally. ' RELATED CASES Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 14(1)(b)Gii), Petitioners submit the following cases which are directly related to this Petition: : : none iii |

Docket Entries

2021-10-04
Petition DENIED.
2021-07-01
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
2021-06-24
Waiver of right of respondent United States of America to respond filed.
2021-06-15
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due July 21, 2021)

Attorneys

Josh Small, et al.
Kevin Michael SchadOffice of the Federal Public Defender, Petitioner
Kevin Michael SchadOffice of the Federal Public Defender, Petitioner
Gregory Adam NapolitanoLaufman Napolitano, LLC, Petitioner
Gregory Adam NapolitanoLaufman Napolitano, LLC, Petitioner
United States of America
Brian H. FletcherActing Solicitor General, Respondent
Brian H. FletcherActing Solicitor General, Respondent