United States v. Geissler

731 F. Supp. 93, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1927, 1990 WL 15608
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 21, 1990
DocketCR-89-714(S2) (ADS)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 731 F. Supp. 93 (United States v. Geissler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Geissler, 731 F. Supp. 93, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1927, 1990 WL 15608 (E.D.N.Y. 1990).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

Defendant Roger Geissler (“Geissler”) moves to dismiss Count One of a two-count indictment 1 on the grounds that it fails to charge a viable offense and/or that the offense charged is unconstitutionally vague as applied. For the reasons stated below, the defendant’s motion is denied in all respects.

THE INDICTMENT

In the indictment Geissler is charged with violating federal law and regulations governing the export of commodities to foreign nations (in this case to Iran). Specifically, the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”), promulgated pursuant to the Export Administration Act, 50 U.S.C. App. §§ 2401-2420, and administered by the Department of Commerce, outline licensing requirements for various commodities which are exported to certain countries. These commodities are enumerated in the EAR Commodity Control List (“CCL”), 15 C.F.R. § 799.1(a). Count One of the indictment charges Geissler and others with the following crime:

“ROGER GEISSLER ... and others did knowingly, wilfully and unlawfully com *94 bine, conspire, confederate and agree to commit an offense against the United States in violation of Title 50, United States Code App., Section 2410 and the Export Administration Regulations promulgated thereunder, 15 C.F.R. § 768, et seq., by conspiring to engage in the business of exporting and causing to be exported from the United States articles, to wit, military aircraft tires for F-14- military aircraft, without obtaining a required United States Department of Commerce license for such export.”

Indictment 1110 (emphasis added).

Count One of the indictment also lists two overt acts undertaken by Geissler in furtherance of the alleged conspiracy.

Geissler argues that tires for F-14 military aircraft are not “commodities” covered by the CCL and therefore by the EAR, and as a result Count One fails to charge a viable offense. Geissler Memorandum of Law at p. 2. Moreover, Geissler claims that even if F-14 military tires are found in the CCL and therefore within the EAR, such a “strained and irrational” interpretation of the EAR renders it unconstitutional as “impermissibly vague in their application” in this case. Geissler Reply Memorandum of Law at p. 10. Geissler apparently does not dispute the fact that the country to whom he allegedly conspired to export F-14 aircraft tires — Iran—is a country identified by Commerce Department regulations as a destination requiring an export license.

THE REGULATIONS

The EAR are designed, inter alia, to “protect the domestic economy from the excessive drain of scarce materials and to reduce the serious inflationary impact of foreign demand” for certain goods, and to “further significantly the foreign policy of the United States and to fulfill its international responsibilities.” 15 C.F.R. § 770.1(a)(1) and (2). In order to carry out their stated purposes, the EAR contain detailed parameters outlining what commodities exported to which countries are within the Commerce Department’s jurisdiction.

The general export proscription contained in the EAR is as follows:

Subject to the provisions of §§ 770.4, 770.5, and 770.6, the export from the United States of all commodities ... is hereby prohibited unless and until a general license authorizing such export shall have been established or a validated license or other authorization for such export shall have been granted by the Office of Export Licensing....

15 C.F.R. § 770.3(a).

The term “commodities” is defined broadly, as “[a]ny article, material or supply except technical data.” 15 C.F.R. § 770.2. Furthermore, the EAR provide detailed instructions for applying for and obtaining export licenses where one is required as well as detailed procedures for appealing agency denial of license applications. See, e.g., 15 C.F.R. §§ 770.11, 770.12, 770.13, 770.14, 770.15, and 15 C.F.R. Parts 771 (General Licenses), 772 (Individual validated licenses), 773 (Special licensing procedures), 774 (Reexports), and 775 (Documentation requirements).

All commodities under the export licensing jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce are contained on the CCL. See 15 C.F.R. § 799.1(a) (the CCL “includes all commodities subject to U.S. Department of Commerce export controls”) and § 799.1(f) (“All items subject to Commerce licensing jurisdiction are included on the CCL, either in a specific commodity listing or in an ‘other, n.e.s.’ 2 entry at the end of each Commodity Group”). The EAR enumerate certain “factors” to be considered in determining whether a commodity should appear on the CCL, including the commodity’s civilian use, military use, and its availability abroad. See 15 C.F.R. § 770.1(b)(3)(i)-(vi). 3 The CCL is broken down into ten general groups. Contained within each group are *95 commodity entries identified by a four digit number plus a letter — the Export Control Commodity Number (“ECCN”). Each digit of this number communicates a certain descriptive meaning for the commodity, i.e., the first digit relates to the strategic level of control associated with the commodity. See 15 C.F.R. § 799.1(b). The CCL does not identify the commodities within Commerce Department jurisdiction any more specifically than the ECCNs contained within each group.

The instant indictment concerns CCL Commodity Group Four, entitled “Transportation Equipment.” Group Four contains twenty-four ECCNs. At oral argument, and in their brief, see Government Memorandum of Law at p.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
731 F. Supp. 93, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1927, 1990 WL 15608, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-geissler-nyed-1990.