United States v. Lin, No. 11-10576 (9th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseDefendant, a Chinese national, unlawfully obtained two driver's licenses issued by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). At issue was whether defendant's possession of those licenses could be punished under 18 U.S.C. 1546(a). The court concluded that section 1546(a) could not be read to criminalize the mere possession of an unlawfully obtained CNMI driver's license. Because the government presented no evidence that defendant possessed any other document covered by the statute, defendant's section 1546(a) conviction could not stand. However, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, a rational jury could find defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for making a false statement to a federal agent in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(2). Accordingly, the court reversed defendant's conviction under section 1546(a) and affirmed his conviction under section 1001(a)(2), remanding for further proceedings.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel reversed the defendant’s convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a) (fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents), affirmed his convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2) (false statement to a federal agent), and remanded for further proceedings. The panel held that § 1546(a) cannot be read to criminalize the mere possession of an unlawfully obtained Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands driver’s license, and that because the government presented no evidence that the defendant possessed any other document covered by the statute, his § 1546(a) convictions cannot stand. The panel held that there was sufficient evidence to support the § 1001(a)(2) conviction.
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