United States of America v Mitchell Country/Territory United States of America Type of court National - higher court Date Nov 3, 1994 Source UNEP, InforMEA Court name United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Language English Subject Wild species & ecosystems Abstract A grand jury indicted Richard Mitchell ("Mitchell"), an employee of the Fish and Wildlife Service ("FWS") of the United States Department of the Interior, for violating 18 U.S.C. § 545 by smuggling the horns and hides of illegally hunted animals into the United States. Section 545 makes it a felony to knowingly import merchandise "contrary to law." Count Nine of the indictment charged Mitchell with the failure to declare the horns and hides, complete FWS Form 3-177, and satisfactorily show to the Veterinary Service the country of origin of the horns and hides ("Agriculture regulations"). The district court convicted Mitchell of a felony under Count Nine. Mitchell appealed the conviction, arguing that (1) the "contrary to law"provision in § 545 does not encompass violations of administrative regulations,and (2) the felony conviction could not be predicated upon a regulation for whichCongress had provided a misdemeanor punishment. In response to Mitchell's first argument, the court found that the "contrary to law" provision in § 545 included,in addition to acts of Congress, substantive agency regulations. The court followed the Supreme Court's holding in Chrysler Corp. v. Brown, 441 U.S. 281(1979), that substantive agency regulations have the "full force and effect of law"if they (1) affect individual rights and obligations, (2) are promulgated pursuantto a congressional grant of quasi-legislative authority, and (3) are promulgated inconformity with the Administrative Procedure Act. The FWS regulation violated by Mitchell was enacted pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ("ESA"). The Fourth Circuit found that Congress had authorized the FWS regulation requiring persons importing gametrophies to complete FWS Form 3-177 to determine if the animal was anendangered species. The Agriculture regulation was proclaimed through 21U.S.C. § 111. Section 111 gave the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to regulate the importation of animal products to prevent the introduction of disease. The Fourth Circuit ruled that both the FWS provision and Agriculture regulations were substantive agency regulations under the Chrysler test and were, therefore, enforceable under § 545. The Fourth Circuit also rejected Mitchell's second argument that there isno "inherent difficulty" with Congress criminalizing the same conduct under morethan one statute, even where violation of one statute is predicated on violation ofthe other. In addition, the court stated that the existence of these regulations criminalizing the same conduct as the statutes did not repeal by implication the statutes. Because the court found no irreconcilable conflict between the statutes,it affirmed Mitchell's conviction. (Provided by: UNODC SHERLOC) Full text USA-2.pdf Website www.unodc.org