Opinion ID: 754615
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Who Should Decide Nexus?

Text: 23 In a criminal jury trial, the jury must determine every element of the offense. United States v. Gaudin, 515 U.S. 506, 510, 522-23, 115 S.Ct. 2310, 132 L.Ed.2d 444 (1995). At the time of the appellants' trial, jurisdiction was an element of the offenses of which they were convicted. 1 24 Under 46 U.S.C. app. § 1903(a) (1994), the vessel involved in the alleged criminal conduct must be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The appellants argue that to establish jurisdiction the government must prove nexus--that is, a connection between the criminal conduct and the United States sufficient to satisfy the United States' pursuit of its interests. United States v. Caicedo, 47 F.3d 370, 372 (9th Cir.1995). Because jurisdiction is dependent upon nexus, the appellants argue, and jurisdiction was an element of the offenses at the relevant time of this case, the jury should have decided the nexus issue. 25 The premise of this argument is that nexus is an element of the offense. To determine whether it is, we first look to the plain meaning of the applicable statute. United States v. Wells, 519 U.S. 482, 117 S.Ct. 921, 927, 137 L.Ed.2d 107 (1997). 26 The statute does not support the argument's premise. The MDLEA contains no nexus requirement. The nexus requirement is a judicial gloss applied to ensure that a defendant is not improperly haled before a court for trial. We have explained the need for the requirement this way: A defendant [on a foreign flag ship] would have a legitimate expectation that because he has submitted himself to the laws of one nation [the foreign flag nation], other nations will not be entitled to exercise jurisdiction without some nexus. Caicedo, 47 F.3d at 372. 27 The nexus requirement serves the same purpose as the minimum contacts test in personal jurisdiction. It ensures that a United States court will assert jurisdiction only over a defendant who should reasonably anticipate being haled into court in this country. World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 297, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980). Just as the question of personal jurisdiction should be decided by the court prior to trial, so should the question of nexus, even though it is part of the jurisdictional requirement. 28 Ford v. United States, 273 U.S. 593, 47 S.Ct. 531, 71 L.Ed. 793 (1927), is consistent with this view. In Ford, the Court considered whether a ship carrying liquor during prohibition had been seized within an area prescribed by a treaty between the United States and Great Britain. The Court held that the issue was one of jurisdiction, which should go to the court prior to trial because [it] did not affect the question of the defendants' guilt or innocence. It only affected the right of the court to hold their persons for trial. Id. at 606, 47 S.Ct. 531. 29 The appellants argue that this court in United States v. Medjuck, 48 F.3d 1107, 1110 (9th Cir.1995), held that the nexus requirement is an element of the offense. This argument misconstrues Medjuck. In Medjuck we held that the government has the burden of proving nexus and that a defendant should have an opportunity to rebut the government's proof. Id. at 1111. We did not require that the jury decide nexus. Our use of terms may have created confusion, however, because we labelled the jurisdiction requirement statutory jurisdiction and the nexus requirement constitutional jurisdiction. Id. at 1110. In an unrelated case, this led us to incorrectly conflate these two requirements and opine, in dicta, that the jury must determine nexus. United States v. Amparo, 68 F.3d 1222, 1226 (9th Cir.1995) (holding that possession of a sawed off shotgun is a crime of violence), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 1164, 116 S.Ct. 1055, 134 L.Ed.2d 200 (1996). In fact, in all prior cases, the district court has decided the nexus issue. See, e.g., United States v. Khan, 35 F.3d 426, 430 (9th Cir.1994) (conditional guilty plea); Davis, 905 F.2d at 249 (motion to dismiss). 30 We conclude the district court properly considered the nexus issue prior to trial. Nexus is part of the jurisdictional inquiry, but it is an inquiry for the court, not the jury. 31