In U.S. v. Saac, No. 09-14204 (Feb. 9, 2011), the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008 (DTVIA). The defendants were convicted under the DTVIA of operating a semi-submersible vessel in international waters.
The Court rejected the argument that the defendants’ unconditional guilty pleas waived their right to challenge the constitutionality of the DTVIA on appeal. The Court ruled that the constitutionality of a criminal statute to which a defendants pleads guilty is a jurisdictional issue that a defendant does not waive upon pleading guilty.
The Court rejected the argument that the “High Seas” clause of the Constitution, which vests Congress with power to define crimes on the High Seas, requires that the crime have a connection with the United States. The Court noted that drug trafficking is condemned universally by law-abiding nations.
Turning to sentencing, the Court found that, in the absence of a promulgated Guideline at the time of sentencing with respect to submersible vessels, the district court did not err in declining to impose sentence based on the Guideline governing tunnels and subterranean passages. The district court did not abuse its discretion in finding the tunnel guideline insufficiently “analogous” for sentencing purposes.
The Court rejected the argument that a sentence was excessive because the alien-defendant would not be eligible for certain vocational programs. The Court noted that the sentence was well below the statutory maximum.
