United States v. Elizabeth Martinez and Mario Valladares

RONEY, Senior Circuit Judge:

Elizabeth Martinez and her fiance Mario Valladares were convicted of conspiring to violate and on six occasions violating the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), 22 U.S. C.A. § 2778, based on their non-licensed exports of video signal descramblers which are included on the United States Munitions List, 22 C.F.R. § 121. The sole point asserted on this appeal is that such devices are not military in character and therefore do not belong on the Munitions List. Holding that the political question doctrine renders the propriety of an item’s placement on the Munitions List a…