Flores-Figueroa v. United States

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Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States , holding that the law enhancing the sentence for identity theft requires proof that an individual knew that the identity card or number he had used belonged to another, actual person.[1] Simply using a Social Security Number is not sufficient connection to another individual.

Contents

• 1 Background

• 2 Opinion of the Court

• 3 See also

• 4 References

• 5 Further reading

• 6 External links

Background

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Ignacio Flores-Figueroa, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico , used a counterfeit Social Security card bearing his real name and a false Social Security number to obtain employment at a steel plant in East Moline, Illinois . Though he did not know it, the number belonged to a real person, a minor. The question in the case was whether workers who use false Social Security numbers must know that they belong to a real person to be subject to a two-year sentence extension for "aggravated identity theft."

Specifically, the case hinged on whether the adverb "knowingly " applies only to the verb or also to the object in 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) (which defines aggravated identity theft): "Whoever [...] knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person [...]".[2] [3]

Opinion of the Court

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In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Breyer on May 4, 2009, the Court held that a prosecutor must be able to show that a defendant knew that the identification he used actually belonged to another person.

See also

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• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 556

• Mens rea

• _Morissette v. United States _ (1952)

References

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1. ↑ Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009).

2. ↑ 18 U.S.C.  § 1028A(a)(1)

3. ↑ Jason Merchant (February 25, 2009) Adverbial modification at the Supreme Court today , Language Log .

Further reading

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• Liptak, Adam (October 20, 2008). "Justices Take Case on Illegal Workers and Penalties for Identity Theft" . _The New York Times _.
• Stout, David (May 4, 2009). "Supreme Court Rules Against Government in Identity-Theft Case" . _The New York Times _. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
• Traps, Leonid (2012). "'Knowingly' Ignorant: Mens Rea Distribution in Federal Criminal Law after Flores-Figueroa" (PDF). _Columbia Law Review _. 112 (3): 628–664. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2012.

External links

(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flores-Figueroa_v._United_States&action=edit&section=6 "Edit section: External links")

• Text of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009) is available from: Cornell CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Internet Archive (docket files) Justia Oyez (oral argument audio)

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