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Legislative Process Keyed to Bressman, 4th Ed.
Muscarello v. United States
Citation:
524 U.S. 125, 118 S.Ct. 1911, 141 L.Ed.2d 111 (1998)Facts
Frank Muscarello was caught selling marijuana, which he had transported in his truck to the place of sale. Police officers found a handgun locked in the truck’s glove compartment. During plea proceedings, Muscarello admitted he had carried the gun for protection in relation to the drug offense, though he later contested this admission and argued that having a gun in a glove compartment did not constitute “carrying” under the statute. In a separate case, Donald Cleveland and Enrique Gray-Santana placed several guns in a bag, put the bag in the trunk of a car, and drove to a location where they planned to conduct a drug transaction. Federal agents stopped them, searched the car, found the guns and drugs, and arrested them. The defendants in both cases argued that firearms located in a vehicle’s locked compartment or trunk did not fall within the meaning of “carries a firearm” under § 924(c)(1).
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