Source: http://openjurist.org/312/f3d/229
Timestamp: 2015-08-02 20:58:17
Document Index: 278051437

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 844', '§ 844', '§ 844', '§ 844', '§ 844', '§ 844', '§ 1341', '§ 844', '§ 844']

312 F3d 229 United States v. Rayborn | OpenJurist
312 F. 3d 229 - United States v. Rayborn Home
312 F3d 229 United States v. Rayborn 312 F.3d 229
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.Gerald RAYBORN, Defendant-Appellee.
No. 01-5632.
Decided and Filed: December 6, 2002.
Kevin P. Whitmore, Asst. U.S. Atty., U.S Attorney's Office, Memphis, TN, Linda F. Thome (argued and briefed), United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
A.C. Wharton, Jr. (argued and briefed), Wharton & Wharton & Associates, Memphis, TN, James R. Garts, Jr. (briefed), James D. Wilson (briefed), Harris, Shelton, Dunlap, Cobb & Ryder, Memphis, TN, for Defendant-Appellee.
Before MERRITT and GILMAN, Circuit Judges; TARNOW, District Judge.*
MERRITT, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which TARNOW, D.J., joined. GILMAN, J. (p. 236), delivered a separate concurring opinion.
In this case, the United States appeals the order dismissing Defendant Gerald Rayborn's indictment for arson under 18 U.S.C. § 844(i). The district court found that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the matter because it concluded that, as applied to the circumstances of the case, § 844(i) constitutes an unconstitutional extension of Congress's commerce power. The court believed its decision was compelled by the decisions of the Supreme Court in United States v. Morrison, 529 U.S. 598, 120 S.Ct. 1740, 146 L.Ed.2d 658 (2000), and Jones v. United States, 529 U.S. 848, 120 S.Ct. 1904, 146 L.Ed.2d 902 (2000).
To the extent the district court dismissed the arson count for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, its conclusion was erroneous. The district court misconstrued language from the opinion of this court in United States v. Sherlin, 67 F.3d 1208, 1213-14 (6th Cir.1995). In that case, this court contrasted § 844(i) with the Gun Free School Zones Act of 1990, the statute at issue in United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 115 S.Ct. 1624, 131 L.Ed.2d 626 (1995), noting that "[u]nlike the unconstitutional statute in Lopez, 18 U.S.C. § 844(i) does contain a jurisdictional element, which ensures, through proper inquiry, that the arson in question affects interstate commerce." Id.
Although the interstate commerce requirement is frequently called the "jurisdictional element," it is simply one of the essential elements of § 844(i). It is not jurisdictional in the sense that it affects a court's subject matter jurisdiction, i.e., a court's constitutional or statutory power to adjudicate a case. See United States v. Martin, 147 F.3d 529, 531-32 (7th Cir. 1998) (citations omitted); United States v. Rea, 169 F.3d 1111, 1113 (8th Cir.1999), vacated and remanded on other grounds, 223 F.3d 741 (8th Cir.2000) ("Section 844(i)'s `interstate commerce' requirement, while jurisdictional in nature, is merely an element of the offense, not a prerequisite to subject matter jurisdiction."); United States v. Carr, 271 F.3d 172, 178 (5th Cir.2001).
Although this court typically vacates a dismissal order when it determines that a district court has erred in dismissing a case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the district court in this case undertook an evaluation of the merits of the interstate commerce question under the guise of subject matter jurisdiction. Furthermore, the facts are before the court via stipulation and the evidentiary hearing in the court below. We therefore will undertake a further consideration of the interstate commerce requirement.
Defendant Gerald Rayborn is the pastor of New Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. On August 25, 1998, the church building was destroyed by fire. On December 16, 1999, Rayborn was indicted in connection with the arson. Count 1 of the indictment charged a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(i).1 Counts 2 and 3 charged violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (mail fraud). The indictment alleged that Rayborn had set fire to the church building as part of a scheme to defraud the insurance company that held the casualty policy on the church building.
In his motion to dismiss the § 844(i) count of the indictment, Rayborn argued (1) that the indictment was defective because the church building was not used in interstate commerce or in an activity affecting interstate commerce and (2) that Congress had exceeded its authority in enacting section 844(i). Upon recommendation of the magistrate judge, the district court initially denied the motion, finding that whether the evidence was sufficient to establish the interstate commerce element of the offense was a matter to be determined after the presentation of evidence at trial. The defendant filed a motion to reconsider and, upon reconsideration, the district court dismissed the § 844(i) count on the jurisdictional ground discussed above.
Next, the Government filed a motion to reconsider and a motion for an evidentiary hearing to establish the requisite connection to interstate commerce. The court granted the motion for an evidentiary hearing, which was held on February 7, 2001. On April 17, 2001, the district court denied the government's motion for reconsideration and the government appeals from that order.