Muscarello v. United States
criminal; two consolidated cases (Muscarello, CA5, guilty plea; Cleveland and Gray-Santana, CA1) in which the courts of appeals upheld "carry" convictions for guns in a locked glove compartment / car trunk; certiorari on whether "carries" is limited to carrying on the person; affirmed 5-4 (result: claimant-won)
Facts
- 4 Knowingly possess and convey the firearm satisfied law
it also applies to a person who knowingly possesses and conveys firearms in a vehicle, including in the locked glove compartment or trunk of a car, which the person accompanies.
- 4 Knowingly possess and convey the firearm satisfied law
Petitioner in the first case, Frank J. Muscarello, unlawfully sold marijuana, which he carried in his truck to the place of sale.
- 4 Knowingly possess and convey the firearm satisfied law
Police officers found a handgun locked in the truck’s glove compartment.
- 4 Knowingly possess and convey the firearm satisfied law
Petitioners in the second case, Donald Cleveland and Enrique Gray-Santana, placed several guns in a bag, put the bag in the trunk of a ear, and then traveled by ear to a proposed drug-sale point, where they intended to steal drugs from the sellers.
- 4 Knowingly possess and convey the firearm satisfied law
Federal agents at the scene stopped them, searched the ears, found the guns and drugs, and arrested them.
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We granted certiorari to determine whether the fact that the guns were found in the locked glove compartment, or the trunk, of a ear precludes application of § 924(c)(1). We conclude that it does not.
- 4 Knowingly possess and convey the firearm satisfied law
“Carry” implies personal agency and some degree of possession, whereas “transport” does not have such a limited connotation and, in addition, implies the movement of goods in bulk over great distances.
- 4 Knowingly possess and convey the firearm satisfied law
That interpretation, however, is difficult to square with the statute’s language, for one “carries” a gun in the glove compartment whether or not that glove compartment is locked.
- 4 Knowingly possess and convey the firearm satisfied law
In sum, the “generally accepted contemporary meaning” of the word “carry” includes the carrying of a firearm in a vehicle.
- 4 Knowingly possess and convey the firearm satisfied law
For these reasons, we conclude that petitioners’ conduct falls within the scope of the phrase “carries a firearm.”