Holloway Aka Ali v. United States

Summary

The Court, in an opinion by Justice Stevens joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer, held that the federal carjacking statute's intent requirement includes an intent to kill or seriously harm the driver if necessary to obtain the car. The relevant intent must exist when the defendant demands or takes control of the vehicle; an empty threat or intimidating bluff alone is insufficient. The Court rejected application of the rule of lenity and affirmed. Justice Scalia dissented without any other Justice joining, arguing that ordinary usage excludes conditional intent of this kind and that any ambiguity should be resolved through lenity. Justice Thomas separately dissented without any other Justice joining, emphasizing the absence of statutory language or a sufficiently settled historical tradition establishing that intent includes conditional intent.