Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227, 11 (1999)

Page:   Index   Previous  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  Next

Cite as: 526 U. S. 227 (1999)

Opinion of the Court

Alaska Stat. Ann. § 11.41.500(a)(3) (1996) (same); Ark. Code Ann. § 5-12-103 (1997) (aggravated robbery; "[i]nflicts or attempts to inflict death or serious physical injury"); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-134(a)(1) (1994) (robbery in the first degree; "[c]auses serious physical injury"); Iowa Code § 711.2 (1993) (robbery in the first degree; "purposely inflicts or attempts to inflict serious injury"); Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-3427 (1995) (aggravated robbery; "inflicts bodily harm"); Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 515.020(1)(a) (Michie 1990) (robbery in the first degree; "causes physical injury"); N. H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 636:1(III)(c) (1996) (class A felony of robbery; "[i]nflicted or attempted to inflict death or serious injury"); N. Y. Penal Law § 160.15 (McKinney 1988) (robbery in the first degree; "[c]auses serious physical injury"); Ore. Rev. Stat. § 164.415(1)(c) (1990) (robbery in the first degree; "[c]auses or attempts to cause serious physical injury"); Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 29.03(a)(1) (1994) (aggravated robbery; "causes serious bodily injury"); Utah Code Ann. § 76-6-302(1)(b) (1995) (aggravated robbery; "causes serious bodily injury"); Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.56.200(1)(c) (1994) (robbery in the first degree; "[i]nflicts bodily injury"). While the state practice is not, admittedly, direct authority for reading the federal car-jacking statute, it does show that in treating serious bodily injury as an element, Congress would have been treading a well-worn path.

Despite these indications and the equivocal structural clues, the Government suggests that a 1996 amendment supports its reading of the carjacking statute as previously enacted. In the Carjacking Correction Act of 1996, 110 Stat. 3020, Congress provided that the term "serious bodily injury" in subsection (2) should include sexual abuse and aggravated sexual abuse as defined in §§ 2241 and 2242. The Government points to several statements in the 1996 amend-ment's legislative history in which subsection (2) is described as providing a "penalty enhancement," see, e. g., H. R. Rep. No. 104-787, pp. 2, 3 (1996), as showing that subsection (2)

237

Page:   Index   Previous  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  Next

Last modified: October 4, 2007