(Download) "Criminal Law - First Circuit Deems Aggravated Identity Theft Statute Ambiguous and Applies Rule of Lenity - United States V. Godin." by Suffolk University Law Review " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Criminal Law - First Circuit Deems Aggravated Identity Theft Statute Ambiguous and Applies Rule of Lenity - United States V. Godin.
- Author : Suffolk University Law Review
- Release Date : January 22, 2009
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 280 KB
Description
Criminal Law--First Circuit Deems Aggravated Identity Theft Statute Ambiguous and Applies Rule of Lenity--United States v. Godin, 534 F.3d 51 (1st Cir. 2008) The prosecution usually must prove a criminal defendant had the necessary mens rea, or culpable mental state, generally defined by the legislature in criminal statutes, to convict him or her of a crime. (1) Title 18, section 1028A(a)(1) of the United States Code, the aggravated identity theft statute, provides for an additional two-year term of imprisonment if "during and in relation to" certain enumerated felonies the perpetrator "knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person." (2) In United States v. Godin, (3) the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit considered whether the "knowingly" mens rea requirement of section 1028A(a)(1) extends to "of another person," or if it is limited to "transfers, possesses, [and] uses." (4) The First Circuit held that the mens rea requirement extends to "of another person," thus requiring that the government prove that the defendant knew the means of identification used during an enumerated felony belonged to another person. (5)