End date 1931 | ||
Full case name McBoyle v. United States Citations 283 U.S. 25 (more)
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 Majority Holmes, joined by unanimous Similar City of Chicago v Morales, R v Dudley and Stephens, Tennessee v Garner, United States v Miller, Atkins v Virginia | ||
McBoyle v. United States, 283 U.S. 25 (1931), was a United States Supreme Court case.
Contents
Background
McBoyle transported a plane that he knew to be stolen from Ottawa, Illinois to Guymon, Oklahoma.
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.
Decision
The court held that, since other acts - such as the Tariff Act of 1930 - specifically excluded aircraft in its definition of a vehicle, 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").