Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227, 35 (1999)

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

Kennedy, J., dissenting

We have not held that subsections (d) and (e) set forth separate offenses. (The Court's citations to AlmendarezTorres and McMillan on this score are inapt. In neither case did we hold that §§ 2113(d) and (e) set forth distinct offenses.) Assuming they do, however, they fail to prove the Court's point, for two reasons. First, as a matter of structure, § 2113 is divided into distinct subsections with a parallel form. Excluding the definitional provisions at the end, each of the five subsections begins with the word "[w]hoever," followed by specified conduct. Given that some of these subsections (e. g., subsections (a) and (b)) set forth distinct offenses, it is fair to presume their like structured neighbors do so as well. One finds no analogous subsections in § 2119 with which clauses (1)-(3) can be matched. On the contrary, clause (1) plainly fails to introduce anything that could be construed as an offense element, making it all the less likely that offense elements are introduced in clauses (2) and (3). Second, the phrases from § 2113 cited by the Court—"assaults any person" and "puts in jeopardy the life of any person by the use of a dangerous weapon or device"—are rather different from the "serious bodily injury results" and "death results" language of § 2119. The former phrases occur before, not after, the punishment-introducing clause "shall be . . . ." They are also phrased in the active voice, placing attention on the defendant's actions, rather than their consequences. The "or if death results" phrase at the end of subsection (e) is a closer analogue to clauses (2) and (3) of § 2119, but there is no reason to assume that this phrase by itself— as opposed to the preceding portion of subsection (e)—defines an element of an offense.

With respect to § 2118, the Court asserts without citation to authority that the phrase "another person . . . suffered significant bodily injury" in subsection (a)(3) is an element of the offense. Ante, at 235-236. Even assuming the Court is correct on the point, however, the differences in structure between that provision and § 2119 show them not to be com-

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