## Facts

- Chen De Yian and others allegedly planned in New York City to seize Chan Fung Chung and hold him for ransom.
- On April 24, 1992, the group attempted to force Chung into an автомобile in Manhattan to obtain ransom from his relatives.
- A firefighter and an off-duty police officer intervened after hearing the victim’s cries, preventing the abduction.
- Chen was arrested by New York City police officers and found with a .30 caliber handgun.
- Chen pled guilty in state court to weapons charges and served an 18-month sentence.
- Federal prosecutors later charged him in the Southern District of New York with attempted hostage taking under 18 U.S.C. § 1203 (the Hostage Taking Act) and using/carrying a firearm in relation to that offense under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).
- Chen entered a conditional guilty plea, preserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to dismiss the § 1203 count on constitutional grounds.

## Issues

1. Whether Congress exceeded its Article I authority, including its power to implement treaties, by applying 18 U.S.C. § 1203 to a hostage-taking attempt occurring in the United States and resembling a local kidnapping-for-ransom.
2. Whether applying the Hostage Taking Act to this conduct violated the Tenth Amendment’s federalism principles by federalizing a traditionally state criminal matter.
3. Whether the Act’s nationality-based jurisdictional features deny equal protection as applied through the Fifth Amendment.

## Decision

- The Second Circuit affirmed the judgment of conviction.
- The court held that the Hostage Taking Act was valid treaty-implementing legislation under Article I and the Necessary and Proper Clause.
- The court held that application of § 1203 in this case did not violate the Tenth Amendment.
- The court held that the Act did not deny equal protection under the Fifth Amendment.
- Because the § 1203 conviction stood, the related § 924(c) firearm conviction also remained valid.

## Legal Principles

- Congress may enact criminal legislation rationally related to implementing a valid treaty under the Necessary and Proper Clause, even if the regulated conduct would otherwise fall within state criminal jurisdiction.
- When Congress legislates pursuant to an enumerated power such as treaty implementation, the Tenth Amendment does not bar federal criminal regulation merely because the subject matter overlaps with traditional state offenses.
- Federal classifications involving nationality in statutes tied to foreign affairs and treaty obligations are generally reviewed deferentially and are constitutional if rationally related to legitimate federal interests, including fulfilling treaty commitments and managing foreign relations.

## Conclusion

The Second Circuit upheld the Hostage Taking Act’s application to an attempted abduction-for-ransom in New York involving foreign nationals, concluding that the statute validly implements an international hostage-taking treaty and does not violate federalism limits or equal protection principles.


United States v. Lue, 134 F.3d 79 (2d Cir. 1998)