Pasquantino v. United States

Summary

The Court, in an opinion by Justice Thomas joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Stevens, O'Connor, and Kennedy, affirmed the wire fraud convictions. It held that Canada's entitlement to unpaid excise taxes was property and that a domestic scheme using interstate wires to evade those taxes fell within the wire fraud statute. Neither the common-law revenue rule nor the presumption against extraterritoriality barred the prosecution. Justice Ginsburg dissented, joined by Justice Breyer throughout and by Justices Scalia and Souter as to Parts II and III. She argued that the statute should not extend to foreign tax evasion, relying on limits on extraterritorial application, the revenue rule, statutory and treaty restrictions on foreign tax enforcement, and lenity. She also would have permitted consideration of resentencing under intervening sentencing decisions.