Opinion ID: 765595
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Exceptions to 18 U.S.C. SS 842(a)(3)(A)

Text: 60 The jury found that Fiorillo violated 18 U.S.C. S 842(a)(3)(A) by receiving explosives without a license. 27 61 Fiorillo raises the argument, however, that this section should not apply to him because of two exceptions set out in 18 U.S.C. S 845. The district court ruled that the exceptions did not apply. This court reviews a district court's construction or interpretation of a statute de novo. United States v. Doe, 136 F.3d at 634.
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.
65 Fiorillo received the explosives from the A.J. Fritz Company, packed them in ocean containers for shipment to Taiwan, and delivered them (or was to deliver them) to the Concord Naval Weapons Station. He argues that the Concord Naval Weapons Station is a Government agency, so the exception under section 845(a)(3) should apply. A closer examination of the process by which the explosives were to go from the A.J. Fritz Company to Taiwan reveals that a Taiwanese company, Yang Ming, was also involved. 66 According to Fiorillo, Yang Ming is the entity that shipped the first shipment of explosives out of his warehouse. While it is not clear what was to happen to the second shipment of explosives, Fiorillo described Yang Ming as the exclusive ocean forwarder for the Taiwanese government. If that is true, then presumably Yang Ming was also to deliver the second shipment of explosives, which the fire inspectors discovered, to Taiwan via the Concord Naval Weapons Station. Under these circumstances, Fiorillo was not transporting, shipping, or receiving explosive materials for delivery to any agency of the United States as the statutory exception requires. See 18 U.S.C. S 845(a)(3) (emphasis added). Instead, he was receiving and shipping explosive materials for delivery to Taiwan. The mere fact that a United States Naval Base was a stopping point on the carrier's delivery route does not bring Fiorillo's actions within the protection of section 845(a)(3). That statute excepts from criminal liability those who receive, transport, ship, and import explosive materials for delivery to, not through, a government agency. 31