Brief filed: 05/04/2007
Documents
Watson v. United States
United States Supreme Court; Case No. 06-571
Prior Decision
Lower court opinion, 191 Fed. Appx. 326, 2006 WL 2061900 (5th Cir. 2006), cert. granted, 2/26/07.
Question Presented
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) criminalizes the “use” of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense and imposes a mandatory consecutive sentence of at least five years’ imprisonment. In Bailey v. United States, 516 U.S. 137 (1995), this Court held that “use” of a firearm under § 924(c) means “active employment.” Id. at 144. The question presented in this case is: Whether the mere receipt of an unloaded firearm as payment for drugs constitutes “use” of the firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) and the Supreme Court’s decision in Bailey.
Argument(s)
Author(s)
Jeffrey Green, Sidley Austin, L.L.P., and the Northwestern Law School Supreme Court Clinic.