## Facts

- Frank J. Muscarello transported marijuana to a drug sale in a truck that contained a handgun locked in the glove compartment.
- Muscarello was convicted of drug trafficking and received a mandatory consecutive sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) for “using or carrying” a firearm “during and in relation to” the drug trafficking crime.
- In a consolidated case, Donald E. Cleveland and Enrique Gray-Santana drove to a drug-sale location intending to steal drugs; several firearms were placed in a bag in the trunk, and agents found guns and drugs in the trunk.
- The Fifth Circuit (Muscarello) and First Circuit (Cleveland/Gray-Santana) held that transporting the firearms in a vehicle satisfied the statute’s “carries a firearm” element.
- The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve whether § 924(c)(1) covers a firearm located in a vehicle’s glove compartment or trunk while the defendant accompanies the vehicle.

## Issues

1. Whether “carries a firearm” in 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) is limited to bearing a firearm on one’s person.
2. Whether “carries a firearm” also includes knowingly possessing and conveying a firearm in a vehicle (including a locked glove compartment or trunk) during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
3. Whether any remaining ambiguity requires application of the rule of lenity.

## Decision

- The Court affirmed the judgments, holding that “carries a firearm” in § 924(c)(1) is not limited to on-person carriage.
- The Court held that the statute covers a person who knowingly possesses and conveys a firearm in a vehicle, including in a locked glove compartment or trunk, while accompanying the vehicle.
- The majority relied on ordinary meaning, consistent circuit authority, the statute’s purpose of addressing the combination of drugs and guns, and the absence of contrary legislative signals.
- The Court declined to apply the rule of lenity, finding no “grievous ambiguity” after considering text, context, purpose, and interpretive aids.
- A dissent argued the statutory pairing of “uses” and “carries” supports a narrower, more immediate-possession reading and that lenity should control given ambiguity and breadth concerns.

## Legal Principles

- For 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1), “carries a firearm” includes knowingly transporting a firearm in a vehicle the defendant accompanies, even if the firearm is stored in a glove compartment or trunk.
- “Carry” may be broader than on-person bearing and can include conveyance in a vehicle when coupled with knowing possession.
- The rule of lenity applies only when, after using interpretive tools, the statute remains so ambiguous that the court can do no more than guess Congress’s intent.

## Conclusion

The Court interpreted § 924(c)(1) to reach defendants who knowingly bring firearms to drug trafficking offenses by transporting them in vehicles they accompany, rejecting an on-person-only limitation and declining to apply lenity in the absence of serious ambiguity.


Muscarello v. United States, 524 U.S. 125 (1998)