McBoyle v. United States

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McBoyle v. United States

Argued February 26 – 27, 1931
Decided March 9, 1931


Full case name:	McBoyle v. United States

Citations:	283 U.S. 25; 51 S. Ct. 340; 75 L. Ed. 816; 1931 U.S. LEXIS 861

Prior history:	Certiorari to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Holding

The court held that since the law did not specify aircraft, it did not apply to aircraft.

Court membership

Chief Justice: Charles Evans Hughes
Associate Justices: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Willis Van Devanter, James Clark McReynolds, Louis Brandeis, George Sutherland, Pierce Butler, Harlan Fiske Stone, Owen Josephus Roberts

Case opinions

Majority by: Holmes
Joined by: unanimous

Laws applied

U.S. Const.

McBoyle v. United States, 283 U.S. 25 (1931), was a United States Supreme Court case.

1 Background
2 Case
3 Decision
4 External links

[edit] Background

McBoyle transported a plane that he knew to be stolen from Ottawa, Illinois to Guymon, Oklahoma.

[edit] Case

McBoyle was accused of violating the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act. The petitioners claimed that since the act did not specifically mention aircraft, it did not apply to aircraft.

[edit] Decision

The court held that since other acts referred to aircraft specifically, such as the Tarriff Act, that the law must be interpreted narrowly. Justice Holmes stated:

Although it is not likely that a criminal will carefully consider the text of the law before he murders or steals, it is reasonable that a fair warning should be given to the world in language that the common world will understand, of what the law intends to do if a certain line is passed. To make the warning fair, so far as possible the line should be clear.

This case is a good example of the canon of ejusdem generis ("of the same kind, class, or nature").