Abuelhawa v. United States
Encyclopedia
Abuelhawa v. United States (Docket No. 08-192), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that a defendant who used a cellphone for the misdemeanor
purchase of cocaine could not be charged with a felony for using a "communication facility" to facilitate the distribution of an illegal drug under . In a unanimous opinion delivered by Justice Souter, the Court reasoned that the Government's interpretation of "facilitate" exposed a first-time buyer using a phone "to punishment 12 times more severe than a purchase by a recidivist offender and 8 times more severe than the unauthorized possession of a drug used by rapists," and was clearly not in line with Congress's intent, since it conflicted with the classification of the drug sale itself as a misdemeanor.
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
purchase of cocaine could not be charged with a felony for using a "communication facility" to facilitate the distribution of an illegal drug under . In a unanimous opinion delivered by Justice Souter, the Court reasoned that the Government's interpretation of "facilitate" exposed a first-time buyer using a phone "to punishment 12 times more severe than a purchase by a recidivist offender and 8 times more severe than the unauthorized possession of a drug used by rapists," and was clearly not in line with Congress's intent, since it conflicted with the classification of the drug sale itself as a misdemeanor.