Jose Fernando Lopez-Anchundia v. United States
DueProcess FifthAmendment JusticiabilityDoctri
Does Congress's power to define and punish felonies on the high Seas authorize extraterritorial prosecution of foreign nationals for crimes committed in a foreign nation's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)?
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 Nati ons.” The Questions Presented are: 1. Does Congress’s power “[t]o define and punish . . . Felonies committed on the high Seas,” authorize the United States to impose its laws upon foreign nationals for wholly foreign crimes committed in a foreign nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)? 2. Is the United States’ prosecution of foreign nationals under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (“MDLEA”) unconstitutional where neither the individual nor his offense bears any nexus to the United States?