United States v. Nofziger and the Revision of 18 U.S.C. S 207: The Need for a New Approach to the Mens Rea Requirements of Federal Criminal Law

• NCJ Number: 126423
• Journal: Notre Dame Law Review Volume: 65 Issue: 4 Dated: (1990) Pages: 803-852
• Author(s): M T Fricher; K Gilchrist
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 50 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Best Practice/State-of-the-Art Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The Nofziger decision represents a lost opportunity for a respected Federal appellate court to initiate the necessary reform for the determination of mens rea in Federal criminal law.

Abstract

The opinions of the court in Nofziger are symbolic of the fundamental problems involved in interpreting the Federal criminal code. The revisions of subsection 207(c) are symbolic of the fundamental problems involved in drafting the Federal criminal code. Neither statutes nor case law provide a useful principle to guide courts when they interpret the thousands of disparate provisions contained in Title 18. Over 10 years ago, in United States v. Bailey, 444 U.S. 400 (1980), the Supreme Court took the first tentative steps toward filling the void. The States are leaders in this area, with a majority of States modernizing their criminal codes and regularizing their methods of statutory interpretation over the last 30 years. A similar development has not occurred with the Federal criminal code, in spite of the fact that the Federal criminal justice system possesses the capacity for reform. 232 notes