Legal Opinion
Watson v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided December 10, 2007No. 06-571PublishedCited by 172 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Souter
The question is whether a person who trades his drugs for a gun “uses” a firearm “during and in relation to . . . [a] drug trafficking crime” within the meaning of 18 U. S. C. § 924(c)(1)(A).1 We hold that he does not.
I
A
Section 924(c)(1)(A) sets a mandatory minimum sentence, depending on the facts, for a defendant who, “during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime[,] ... uses or carries a firearm.”2 The statute leaves the term “uses” undefined, though we have spoken to it twice before.
Smith v. United States, 508 U. S. 223 (1993), raised the converse of today’s…
2Cases cited20 opinions
- Federal Deposit Insurance v. MeyerSupreme Court of the United States · 1994
- Shepard v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 2005
- Bailey v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1995
- Patterson v. McLean Credit UnionSupreme Court of the United States · 1989
- Smith v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1993
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3Cited by172 opinions
- John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 2008
- Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Eli Lilly and Co.Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit · 2010
- Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLCSupreme Court of the United States · 2015
- Dean v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 2009
- United States v. KuehneCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2008
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