United States v. Rentz

I join the concurrence of Judge Matheson. I add a few words, however, to elaborate further on why I believe the government’s arguments are rather strong, although not strong enough to overcome the rule of lenity.

As I read the words of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) in isolation, they lend themselves most readily to the government’s interpretation. The operative language for this case is as follows: “[A]ny person who, during and in relation to any crime of violence ..., uses ... a firearm, ... shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such crime of violence ... be sentenced to a term of…