ROANOKE TIMES Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times DATE: Thursday, December 7, 1995 TAG: 9512070087 SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-13 EDITION: METRO DATELINE: WASHINGTON SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
In a rare victory for convicted drug criminals, the Supreme Court Wednesday narrowed a key federal law that adds an extra five-year prison term for a drug dealer who ``uses or carries'' a gun.
Until Wednesday, prosecutors and most federal courts have imposed that extra punishment if a weapon is found in the drug dealer's car, in a locked trunk or even a closet in his home.
If the weapon was ``accessible'' to a drug trafficker, it was used in the commission of his crimes because it provided protection, prosecutors said.
But in a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court threw out that definition as too broad. From now on, a criminal must hold, brandish or fire the weapon to get the extra punishment, the justices said. The ``mere possession'' of a gun is not enough, they added.
A Justice Department spokesman could not offer a precise figure on how many would be affected by the ruling, but it was certainly ``in the hundreds,'' he said. Inmates also could seek to shorten their term based on the decision.
Though the outcome may seem surprising for a generally conservative high court, the outcome probably has less to do with ideology than semantics.
Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative who is the Supreme Court's leading literalist, has insisted that the justices follow the strict meaning of words written into law. Two years ago, during an argument in a related case, he commented that no one would say, ``I use a cane'' to mean he has a cane hanging on a hook in his closet.
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB