Muscarello v. United States
| Muscarello v. United States | |
|---|---|
| Argued March 23, 1998 Decided June 8, 1998 | |
| Full case name | Frank J. Muscarello v. United States; Donald E. Cleveland and Enrique Gray-Santana v. United States |
| Citations | 524 U.S. 125 (more) 118 S.Ct. 1911; 141 L. Ed. 2d 111; 1998 U.S. LEXIS 3879 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | |
| Holding | |
| The phrase "carries a firearm" in the mandatory sentencing provision of the firearms chapter of the Federal Criminal Code, , will be broadly interpreted to encompass not only when a suspect is carrying a firearm on his person but also when the firearm is in either the trunk or locked glove compartment of the vehicle the suspect is driving. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Breyer, joined by Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Thomas |
| Dissent | Ginsburg, joined by Rehnquist, Scalia, Souter |
| Laws applied | |
| Firearms Penalties, . | |
Muscarello v. United States, 524 U.S. 125 (1998), is a United States Supreme Court case focusing on legislative interpretation of a firearms chapter of the federal criminal code. The Court was asked to rule on whether a particular statute with the phrase “carries a firearm” should be interpreted so as to be limited to carrying a firearm only on one’s person or interpreted more broadly to include carrying a firearm in a vehicle. The Court held that the statute should be construed broadly and that a firearm discovered in a vehicle, including the glove compartment and trunk, would constitute as “carrying” under the statute.