Opinion ID: 765595
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Title 18 U.S.C. 845(a)(1).28

Text: 62 Fiorillo argues that this exception should apply to him because the explosives found in his warehouse were regulated by the Department of Transportation. Under his interpretation, no person could be liable under section 842(a)(3)(A) for receiving explosives without a license if those explosives are in some way regulated by the Department of Transportation. Fiorillo's construction eviscerates section 842(a)(3)(A). If this court were to adopt Fiorillo's interpretation, an unlicensed individual who received a case of dynamite from a third party would not be liable because the Department of Transportation has regulations that classify the dynamite and dictate how it should be transported. Essentially, no one in the Ninth Circuit would ever again be liable under section 842(a)(3)(A). 63 Looking at the plain language of sections 842(a)(3)(A) and 845(a)(1), it is clear that the exception does not apply to Fiorillo. Section 842 states that it is a crime for an unlicensed individual to transport, ship, cause to be transported, or receive in interstate commerce any explosive material. Fiorillo was found guilty of receiving explosives without a license. 29 The exception in section 845(a)(1) by its own terms only applies to the transportation of explosives, not the receipt of explosives. Where Congress includes particular language in one section of a statute but omits it in another section of the same Act, it is generally presumed that Congress acts intentionally and purposely in the disparate inclusion or exclusion. Russello v. United States, 464 U.S. 16, 23 (1983). If Congress intended to include the receipt of explosives within the exceptions, it would have done so expressly as it did in section 845(a)(3). 64 Additionally, under accepted canons of statutory interpretation, statutes are to be interpreted as a whole. See Boise Cascade Corp. v. EPA, 942 F.2d 1427, 1432 (9th Cir. 1991). One provision of a statute should not be interpreted in a manner that renders other sections of the same statute inconsistent, meaningless or superfluous. Id. Fiorillo's interpretation of section 845(a)(1) would render section 842(a)(3)(A) meaningless. He simply interprets the exception too broadly. The district court did not err in denying Fiorillo's motion to dismiss the explosives charges against him.