Josh Small and Joni Amber Johnson v. United States
JusticiabilityDoctri
Does a purely local home invasion satisfy the interstate commerce nexus element of the federal kidnapping statute?
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 |