McNab v. U.S. -- Challenging Over-Criminalization in the Federal Courts

The NFIB Legal Foundation supported four seafood importers and dealers who were convicted and sentenced up to eight years in prison for violating an obscure (and now repealed) Honduran law. The charges against the four individuals were based upon alleged violations of the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to import any fish or wildlife in violation of foreign law. The importers were found to have imported undersized lobster tails packaged in clear plastic bags, violations of Honduran law that required seafood to be shipped in cardboard boxes. The Honduran government has since repealed the law that was the basis for the convictions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the convictions. The Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of the case and in July 2004 the importers began serving their prison sentences.

Status: Decided. Amicus brief in support of the defendants/appellants’ petitions for review filed Dec. 29, 2003. Review denied by U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 23, 2004.