United States v. Curtis Lee Terry, United States of America v. Ronnie Williams

257 F.3d 366, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 15587
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedJuly 12, 2001
Docket00-4856, 00-4902
StatusPublished
Cited by46 cases

This text of 257 F.3d 366 (United States v. Curtis Lee Terry, United States of America v. Ronnie Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Curtis Lee Terry, United States of America v. Ronnie Williams, 257 F.3d 366, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 15587 (4th Cir. 2001).

Opinions

Reversed and remanded by published opinion. Chief Judge WILKINSON wrote the opinion, in which Judge MICHAEL joined. Judge KING wrote an opinion concurring in the judgment.

OPINION

WILKINSON, Chief Judge:

We must decide whether the First Baptist Church of Raleigh, North Carolina was sufficiently “used in” interstate commerce under 18 U .S.C. § 844(i) (1994) to make arson of the church a federal crime. Because the church building contained a daycare center with significant commercial characteristics, we hold that the building fits within the terms of the statute. See Jones v. United States, 529 U.S. 848, 120 S.Ct. 1904, 146 L.Ed.2d 902 (2000).

I.

On September 7, 2000, a federal grand jury charged Curtis Lee Terry and Ronnie Williams with arson, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(i), and conspiracy to violate § 844(i). The United States alleges that Terry and Williams set fire to the First Baptist Church on August 12, 2000. Because this case comes to us after a dismissal of the indictment by the district court, we must assume that all facts proffered by the government are true. See United States v. Lund, 853 F.2d 242, 244 n. 1 (4th Cir.1988).

The defendants started two fires in the church, one in the office of the daycare center and the other in an auditorium. Before starting the fires, the defendants broke into the office of the daycare center, and took blank checks which they drafted to themselves. Terry and Williams then burned the church “to cover evidence of the break-in.”

The defendants moved to dismiss the indictment on the ground that the church identified in the indictment was not “used in” interstate commerce as required by § 844(i). At a hearing on the motion to [368]*368dismiss, the United States conceded that the church building was first and foremost a place of worship. Nevertheless, the government presented the following evidence to show a nexus between the church and interstate commerce: the church employed and paid salaries to pastors, associate pastors, and a cleaning staff; some church employees had health insurance and retirement benefits administered through an annuity board of the Southern Baptist Convention, based in Dallas, Texas; the church was affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, based in Atlanta, Georgia; church members paid tithes to the church; the church had partnerships with organizations in other countries; the church subsidized charitable missions in various parts of the United States and internationally; the church provided food and clothing to members of the public; the church purchased bus tickets for needy persons; the church received Sunday school materials from a publisher in Macon, Georgia; the church hosted out-of-state speakers; and the church had out-of-state members.

The United States also presented evidence about a daycare center operating within the church building. The center was open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.. daily. It occupied a main part of the church building. An organization independent of the church ran the daycare center. Parents who used the daycare center paid a monthly fee of $706. The daycare teachers were employed and paid by the center, not the church. The church did not collect rent from the daycare center. The daycare center did not make a profit.

The district court, for purposes of the motion to dismiss, assumed all these facts to be true. Nevertheless, the court dismissed the indictments against both Terry and Williams. The court stated that none of the facts proffered by the government established for purposes of § 844(i) that the building was used in interstate or foreign commerce, or in an activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce. The United States now appeals.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
257 F.3d 366, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 15587, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-curtis-lee-terry-united-states-of-america-v-ronnie-ca4-2001.