In U.S. v. Ibarguen-Mosquera, No. 09-14476 (Feb. 10, 2011), the Court rejected challenges to the constitutionality of the Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act (DTVIA).
The Court rejected a challenge based on international law principles, noting that these principles only apply to laws that govern the conduct of flagged vessels, whereas the DTVIA applies to stateless vessels.
The Court rejected the argument that the terms “semi-submersible vessel” and “intent to evade” were void for vagueness. The Court found that the application of both terms to defendants was clear: “Defendants traveled in a Vessel that sat very low in the water, was painted ocean-blue, and had no headlights or signals.”
The Court also rejected the argument that the conspiracy and substantive offenses were double punishment for the same offense, noting that conspiracy involves “collaboration” to violate the statute while the substantive offense does not.
The Court ruled that the statute does not require that a defendant “knowingly” navigate on the high seas. The high seas element was merely a jurisdictional element of the statute.
