United States v. Morrison

Opinion in United States v. Morrison

Kate Fort

We posted about the lower court decision here.

Of the many arguments that the parties have raised, only two warrant extended 11 discussion. The first is the government’s contention that the district court erred in vacating Morrison’s conspiracy conviction on the ground of vagueness. The second is Morrison’s claim that the CCTA was inapplicable to him given New York’s “forbearance policy,” under which the State refrained from collecting taxes on cigarette sales transacted on Native American reservations. According to Morrison, this forbearance policy barred his conviction under the CCTA because that statute provides that, in order for a federal prosecution to lie, the state in which the allegedly contraband cigarettes are found must “require” tax stamps to be placed on  cigarettes. We reverse the district court’s order vacating Morrison’s RICO conspiracy conviction and reject all of Morrison’s challenges to his convictions.

Opinion

Appellant/Government’s Brief
Defendant/Appellee Brief
Government’s Response & Reply Brief
Appellee Reply Brief

One Federal Criminal Count Dismissed Against Indian Smokeshop Supplier…

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

As a result of the Second Circuit’s recent Golden Feather decision.

Here are the materials in United States v. Morrison (previous post here):

Motion for Reconsideration

DCT Order Dismissing Count Two

An excerpt:

Based on the Second Circuit’s March 4, 2010 decision in City of New York v. Golden Feather Smoke Shop, Inc., 597 F.3d 115 (2d Cir. 2010), I have reconsidered, and changed my earlier determinations that defendant’s motions to dismiss Count Two on substantive due process grounds lacked merit. As a result, the conviction under Count Two is vacated, and the Count is dismissed.

Boston Globe: Souter Surprised Conservatives with Dissent in Seminole Tribe

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

From the Boston Globe:

When he was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1990, David H. Souter vowed to uphold the “original intent” of the Constitution, words that his backers interpreted to mean he would join the court’s conservative bloc to support states’ rights and limit the reach of federal power.

But as a Supreme Court justice, Souter has often infuriated his initial supporters by repeatedly siding with the court’s liberal wing on issues from abortion to crime, all the while arguing that the founders would have supported his interpretations.

Indeed, legal scholars said, Souter’s two most significant legacies on the court have been his resistance to the erosion of federal power in the 1990s and his insistence that there need not be a conflict between respecting the founders’ intent and backing liberal causes.

Souter’s writing “shows us you can be an originalist without being a conservative,” said Linda Coberly, a Chicago lawyer and former Supreme Court clerk.

Continue reading →

U.S. v. Morrison — Federal Convictions for Contraband Cigarette Sales

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

The US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York indicted “reservation retailers” for violations of the Contraband Cigarettes Trafficking Act and of RICO. The defendants moved to dismiss the RICO charge. Here is the opinion denying the motion — us-v-morrison-dct-order