Cite as: 524 U. S. 1 (1998)
Opinion of the Court
In re Palliser concerned a man who sent letters from New York to postmasters in Connecticut, attempting to gain postage on credit, in violation of then-applicable law. The Court held that the defendant could be prosecuted in Connecticut, where the mail he addressed and dispatched was received. 136 U. S., at 266-268. The Palliser opinion simply recognizes that a mailing to Connecticut is properly ranked as an act completed in that State. Cf. 18 U. S. C. § 3237(a) ("Any offense involving the use of the mails . . . is a continuing offense and . . . may be . . . prosecuted in any district from, through, or into which such . . . mail matter . . . moves."); United States v. Johnson, 323 U. S. 273, 275 (1944) (consistent with the Constitution "an illegal use of the mails . . . may subject the user to prosecution in the district where he sent the goods, or in the district of their arrival, or in any intervening district"). Cabrales, however, dispatched no missive from one State into another. The counts before us portray her and the money she deposited and withdrew as moving inside Florida only.
Finally, the Government urges the efficiency of trying Cabrales in Missouri, because evidence in that State, and not in Florida, shows that the money Cabrales allegedly laundered derived from unlawful activity. Although recognizing that the venue requirement is principally a protection for the defendant, Reply Brief 10, the Government further maintains that its convenience, and the interests of the community victimized by drug dealers, merit consideration.
But if Cabrales is in fact linked to the drug-trafficking activity, the Government is not disarmed from showing that is the case. She can be, and indeed has been, charged with conspiring with the drug dealers in Missouri. If the Government can prove the agreement it has alleged, Cabrales can be prosecuted in Missouri for that confederacy, and her money laundering in Florida could be shown as overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy. See 18 U. S. C. § 371 (requiring proof of an "act to effect the object of the conspiracy").
9
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007