Virgilio Valencia-Gamboa v. United States
JusticiabilityDoctri
Are Congress's powers under the Define and Punish Clause inherently limited by international law, and does the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act exceed Congress's jurisdictional authority over foreign nationals for extraterritorial crimes?
Article I, Section 8, Clause 10 of the United States Constitution empowers Congress “[t]o define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations.” The Questions Presented are: 1. Are Congress’s powers under the Define and Punish Clause inherently limited by international law? 2. Does 46 U.S.C. § 70502(d)(1)(C) of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act exceed Congress’s powers by authorizing the United States to assert jurisdiction over foreign nationals for wholly foreign, extraterritorial crimes, in violation of international law? 1 This petition presents two of the three issues presented in Canario -Vilomar v. United States , No. 25 5506.