McBoyle v. United States - Wikipedia

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United States Add languages Add links Article Talk English Read Edit View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Download QR code Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1931 United States Supreme Court case .mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent;color:inherit}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:-3px}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}} McBoyle v. United States Supreme Court of the United States Argued February 26–27, 1931 Decided March 9, 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 Case history Prior Certiorari to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Holding The National Motor Vehicle Theft Act does not apply to aircraft. Court membership Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes Associate Justices Oliver W. Holmes Jr. · Willis Van Devanter James C. McReynolds · Louis Brandeis George Sutherland · Pierce Butler Harlan F. Stone · Owen Roberts Case opinion Majority Holmes, joined by unanimous Laws applied U.S. Const. McBoyle v. United States , 283 U.S. 25 (1931), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding whether the theft of an airplane was illegal under federal law, given that the law only criminalized theft of a "vehicle." Background [ edit ] William McBoyle transported a plane that he knew to be stolen from Ottawa, Illinois to Guymon, Oklahoma and was arrested. Case [ edit ] McBoyle was accused of violating the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act on the premise that the plane was a type of "vehicle" covered by the act. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The petitioners claimed that since the act did not specifically mention aircraft, it should not apply to this case. Furthermore, Congress likely did not intend to criminalize the theft of aircraft when the law was passed, since airplanes barely existed at the time. [ 3 ] Decision [ edit ] The court held that, since other acts – such as the Tariff Act of 1930 [ 4 ] – 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"). See also [ edit ] List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 283 References [ edit ] .mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}body.skin-vector-2022 .mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:27em}body.skin-vector-2022 .mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:22.5em}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=upper-alpha]{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=upper-roman]{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=lower-alpha]{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=lower-greek]{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=lower-roman]{list-style-type:lower-roman}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-upper-alpha .references{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-upper-roman .references{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-lower-alpha .references{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-lower-greek .references{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-lower-roman .references{list-style-type:lower-roman} ^ National Motor Vehicle Theft Act, October 29, 1919, c. 89, 41 Stat 324 ^ .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#bf3c2c)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#bf3c2c)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}} "McBoyle v. United States, 283 U.S. 25 (1931)" . Justia Law . Retrieved February 4, 2024 . ^ How Someone Stole a Plane Without Breaking Federal Law , January 31, 2020 , retrieved February 4, 2024 ^ Tariff Act, June 17, 1930, c. 997, § 401 (b) External links [ edit ] @media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sister-inline-image img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{filter:invert(1)brightness(55%)contrast(250%)hue-rotate(180deg)}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sister-inline-image img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{filter:invert(1)brightness(55%)contrast(250%)hue-rotate(180deg)}} Works related to McBoyle v. United States at Wikisource Text of 283 U.S. 25 (1931) is available from: Justia Library of Congress <img src="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&amp;type=1x1&amp;usesul3=1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"> Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=McBoyle_v._United_States&oldid=1330668480 " Categories : United States Supreme Court cases in 1931 United States Supreme Court cases United States statutory interpretation case law Texas County, Oklahoma Vehicle law Aviation security Ottawa, Illinois United States Supreme Court cases of the Hughes Court Hidden categories: Use American English from September 2025 All Wikipedia articles written in American English Use mdy dates from September 2023 Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata