Muscarello v. United States

Summary

The Court, in an opinion by Justice Breyer joined by Justices Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, and Thomas, held that carrying a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) includes knowingly possessing and conveying a firearm in a vehicle the defendant accompanies, including in a locked glove compartment or trunk. Ordinary meaning, statutory purpose, and legislative history supported that interpretation; immediate accessibility was unnecessary, and the statute was not sufficiently ambiguous to trigger lenity. The Court affirmed both appellate judgments. Justice Ginsburg dissented, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Scalia and Souter. She would restrict the provision to bearing firearms on or about the person, ready for use, and would resolve the statutory ambiguity in the defendants' favor under the rule of lenity.