In United States v. Marin, --- F.4th ---, No. 22-50154 (9th Cir. 2024), the Court affirmed two defendants’ convictions for violating 46 U.S.C. § 70503(a)(1) of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, which prohibits possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute while on board a covered vessel.
Defendants challenged the government’s jurisdiction, arguing the provision under which jurisdiction was exercised is unconstitutional because (1) Congress’s authority to “define and punish . . . Felonies committed on the high Seas,” U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 10 (the “Felonies Clause”), is limited by international law principles; and (2) § 70502(d)(1)(C), enacted under the Felonies Clause, conflicts with international law as to when a vessel may be treated as stateless.
The Court did not decide the first issue, but held instead that the definition of “vessel without nationality” under § 70502(d)(1)(C) does not conflict with international law.
"Because there is no rule of international law speaking to this jurisdictional question, the United States does 'not overstep the limits which international law places upon its jurisdiction,' in choosing to treat vessels as stateless where the claimed nation responds that it can neither confirm nor deny the registry. We therefore need not address defendants’ argument that Congress’s powers to enact laws pursuant to the Felonies Clause is constrained by international law to conclude that defendants’ challenge to § 70502(d)(1)(C) of the MDLEA fails. We affirm defendants’ convictions."
