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United States v. Shi

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United States v. Shi
CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Full case name United States of America v. Lei Shi
ArguedNovember 6, 2007
DecidedApril 24, 2008
Citation525 F.3d 709
Case history
Prior history396 F. Supp. 2d 1132 (D. Haw. 2003)
Court membership
Judges sittingDiarmuid O'Scannlain, A. Wallace Tashima, Milan D. Smith, Jr.
Case opinions
MajorityO'Scannlain, joined by a unanimous court
Laws applied
18 U.S.C. § 2280

United States v. Shi, 525 F.3d 709 (9th Cir. 2008) is a case involving piracy on the high seas.[1] The case held that United States could try foreign nationals on foreign-flagged vessels for crimes committed on the high seas, outside the territory of the United States.[2]

Incident and capture of the 'Full Means II'

A national of the People's Republic of China, Shi Lei (施 雷),[3] the cook of the Full Means II (富明二號[3]), a Taiwanese fishing vessel registered in the Republic of the Seychelles and owned by Taipei-based FCF Fishery Company (豐群水產股份有限公司),[4] had been demoted to deckhand.[5] He had demanded to go home to China but was refused. In retaliation, he stabbed and killed Captain Chen Chung-She (陳忠社 Chén Zhōngshè)[3] and first mate Li Da Feng (李大丰/李大豐)[3] when the ship was sailing in international waters off the coast of Hawaii in March 2002.[4] After killing the men Shi ordered the second mate to "drive the ship,"[6] and ordered the other crewmembers to throw the captain's body overboard. He allegedly stated that he would kill anyone who disobeyed him and refused to let his crewmates use the radio. He controlled the ship for two days, setting a course for China and threatening to scuttle the vessel if his instructions were not obeyed.[7]

However, on March 16, 2002, the crew overpowered Shi,[4] and imprisoned him in a storage compartment.[2] The crew then set a course for Hawaii, but did not contact FCF, apparently because none of them knew how to operate the radio. FCF notified the U.S. Coast Guard that its ship was missing, as the company had not heard from the ship for several days, and asked the Coast Guard to help find it.[4]

Five days after Shi had seized the ship, a Coast Guard cutter Kiska intercepted the ship approximately 60 miles from Hilo, Hawaii.[4] Over the next two days, Shi, who was still imprisoned by the crew in the storage compartment, spoke to a Coast Guard officer and admitted to having killed the two men. FBI agents then boarded the ship and arrested Shi; he was arrested for violating 18 U.S.C. § 2280,[8] which prohibits acts of violence that endanger maritime navigation.[2]

Trial and decision

The Seychelles waived its jurisdiction. Instead the United States federal government prosecuted Shi.[9]

Shi was charged with one count of seizing control over a ship by force, and two counts of performing an act of violence likely to endanger the safety of the ship. After a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Helen W. Gillmor of the District of Hawaii, Shi was convicted and sentenced to 36 years in prison.[2]

The U.S. Attorney General did not authorize the death penalty in this case, although this was requested by the prosecuting attorney.[10]

Shi appealed, challenging, among other things, the district court's jurisdiction. However, in 2008 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain, rejected Shi's claims that he cannot be tried in the USA because piracy is subject to universal jurisdiction, and because Sec. 2280 implements the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation — to which the United States is a party – which expressly provides notice that prohibited conduct may be prosecuted by any state signatory.[1][2]

As of 2015 Shi Lei, listed as "Lei Shi" with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) register number 88784-022, is incarcerated at FCI Pollock in Louisiana.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b United States v. Shi, 525 F.3d 709 (9th Cir. 2008).
  2. ^ a b c d e Ellis, Steven M. (April 25, 2008). "Ninth Circuit Court Upholds Chinese Man's Piracy Conviction". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Metropolitan News Company. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d "中國漁工殺害台灣船長案 嫌犯在美遭到起訴" (Archived 2015-12-13 at WebCite). Epoch Times. 2005-11-17. Retrieved on December 14, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e McFadden, Robert D. (March 23, 2002). "Tales of Mutiny and Murder Unfold After a Missing Taiwanese Ship Is Found". New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2009. (Archive)
  5. ^ Gima, Craig. "Court documents reveal details of boat’s mutiny" (Archived 2015-12-14 at WebCite). Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 2, 2002. Retrieved on December 14, 2015.
  6. ^ Burgess, D.R. The World for Ransom: Piracy Is Terrorism, Terrorism Is Piracy. Prometheus Books. ISBN 1616143088, 9781616143084. p. 183.
  7. ^ United States v. Shi, 396 F. Supp. 2d 1132 (D. Haw. 2003).
  8. ^ 18 U.S.C. § 2280
  9. ^ Hodgkinson, Sandra L. "The Incorporation of International Law to Define Piracy Crimes, National Laws, and the Definition of Piracy" (Chapter 2). In: Scharf, Michael P; Michael A. Newton, and Milena Sterio. Prosecuting Maritime Piracy: Domestic Solutions to International Crimes. Cambridge University Press, June 9, 2015. ISBN 110708122X, 9781107081222. Start: p. 32. CITED: p. 38.
  10. ^ "FDO activity" (PDF). January 2003. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  11. ^ "Inmate Locator." Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on December 14, 2015. Enter the name "Lei Shi" and/or the BOP number.
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