United States v. Kilmartin

99 F. Supp. 3d 180, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37357, 2015 WL 1383268
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maine
DecidedMarch 25, 2015
DocketNo. 2:14-CR-00129-JAW
StatusPublished

This text of 99 F. Supp. 3d 180 (United States v. Kilmartin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Kilmartin, 99 F. Supp. 3d 180, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37357, 2015 WL 1383268 (D. Me. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

JOHN A. WOODCOCK, JR., District Judge.

Sidney Kilmartin moves to dismiss the indictment on the theories that the Court lacks federal subject matter jurisdiction in [182]*182this case, and that the statute under which he has been charged, 18 U.S.C. § 1716, is unconstitutionally vague in violation of his due process rights. The Court denies Mr. Kilmartin’s motion to dismiss, concluding that it has subject matter jurisdiction and that 18 U.S.C. § 1716 is not unconstitutionally vague.

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On November 4, 2014, a federal grand jury indicted Mr. Kilmartin on two counts of depositing for mailing and delivery a nonmailable substance, with the intent to kill or injure Andrew Denton of Hull, England, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1716. Indictment (ECF No. 3). Count I of the indictment reads:

On about November 16, 2012, in the District of Maine ■ and elsewhere, the defendant Sidney P. Kilmartin knowingly, and with the intent to kill or injure another, deposited for mailing and delivery something declared nonmailable by Title 18, United States Code, Section 1716, not in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the United States Postal Service, in other words, potassium cyanide, a poison, which Kil-martin mailed to Andrew Denton of Hull, England.
All in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1716(j)(2).

Indictment at 1. Count II reads:

On about December 11, 2012, in the District of Maine and elsewhere, the defendant Sidney P. Kilmartin knowingly deposited for mailing and delivery something declared nonmailable by Title 18, United States Code, Section 1716, not in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the United States Postal Service, in other words, potassium cyanide, a poison, which resulted in the death of a person, Andrew Denton. All in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1716(j)(3).

Indictment at 2.

On January 30, 2015, Mr. Kilmartin moved to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that federal subject matter jurisdiction is lacking and that the § 1716(j)(3) is unconstitutionally vague. Def.’s Mot. to Dismiss (ECF No. 36) (Def.’s Mot.). The Government responded on February 20,-2015. Gov’t’s Opp’n to Mot. to Dismiss (ECF No. 38) (Gov’t’s Opp’n). Mr. Kil-martin replied on March 6, 2015. Def.’s Reply to Gov’t’s Opp’n to Mot. to Dismiss (ECF No. 42) {Def.’s Reply).

II. THE PARTIES’ POSITIONS

A. Sidney Kilmartin’s Motion

Mr. Kilmartin first argues that subject matter jurisdiction is lacking in this case because the mailing was not made with an intent to kill and did not result in death. Def.’s Mot. at 7-11. Mr. Kilmartin contends that the legislative history laying out the federal interest supporting § 1716 “focus [es] on the use of the mails as an instrumentality to cause injury or death”, but does not mean to include harm that occurs “once the mail has been opened and the recipient endeavors to use the contents of the package at some later point to commit suicide of his own free-will.” Id. at 9-10.

Second, Mr. Kilmartin argues that 18 U.S.C. § 1716(j)(3), the violation of which is alleged in Count II, violates his due process rights under the Constitution because it is overly vague. Id. at 12. Specifically, Mr. Kilmartin argues that the statutory language “resulted in the death of any person” is ambiguous because it is unclear from the face of the statute whether a mailed item later used voluntarily by the recipient to kill himself qualifies as “results” in the death of a person. Id. at 14-15. He maintains that the statute does not [183]*183expressly and unambiguously prohibit mailing something that later results in a death preceded by intervening and voluntary act of suicide by the recipient. Id. at 16.

B. The Government’s Response

The Government argues that its “authority over mail is broad and deep, and has roots that extend beyond the formation of the United States” and that “Congress has the authority to protect federal interests associated with the postal service with criminal sanctions.” Gov’t’s Opp’n at 2-3. It contends that § 1716 is clear, unambiguous, and gives fair notice. Id. at 6. Specifically, the Government argues that § 1716 defines the crime with sufficient particularity that ordinary people can understand what conduct is criminalized, that it has been a federal crime to mail poison for over 100 years, and that cyanide, which is a poison that can kill or injure, is specified as a nonmailable poison by regulations promulgated pursuant to § 1716. Id. at 4-7. Next, the Government claims that § 1716 criminalizes mailing poison with an intent to Ml or injure, and that suicide is by nature an intentional killing and assisting suicide is widely criminalized. Id. at 8-9.

The Government reasons that it is highly unlikely that Congress intended to carve out an exception to § 1716 for assisted suicide, given that the other exceptions are for science and commercial transportation, and maintains that even if Congress did so, Mr. Kilmartin has the burden both to demonstrate that an assisted suicide defense is available as a matter of law and to produce sufficient evidence to support it at trial. Id. at 10. Additionally, the Government states that § 1716(j)(3), the “resulting in death” count, requires that poison be the but-for cause of death, not the proximate cause of death or that death was foreseeable. Id. at 11.

C. Sidney Kilmartin’s Reply

Mr. Kilmartin acknowledges that the federal government has broad authority over the mail under the necessary and proper clause but insists that in no way does that authority expand to include mailing poison that has been safely mailed, received, and consumed voluntarily and knowingly by its recipient. Def.’s Reply at 2-3. He repeats his refrain that § 1716(j)(3) is unconstitutionally vague, and that “no ordinary person would expect that mailing a ... safely contained package of cyanide would expose them to the penalties under [§ 1716(j)(3) ] when an independent party safely opens the package and uses it knowingly at some later time to cause death.” Id. at 7.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Review of a Motion to Dismiss

Rule 12(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that “at any time while the case is pending,” the court may hear a claim that the indictment fails to invoke the court’s jurisdiction. Fed. R.CRIM.P. 12(b)(2).

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Bluebook (online)
99 F. Supp. 3d 180, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37357, 2015 WL 1383268, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-kilmartin-med-2015.