2nd Cir. - Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act

Second Circuit rules that the MDLEA does not require a nexus for stateless vessels and that Congress did not exceed its authority under Article I of the Constitution in enacting the MDLEA

It’s been about four months since we’ve seen a circuit court decision concerning the MDLEA. Well, the wait is over. The Second Circuit recently had to address the Constitutionality of prosecuting co-conspirators for their land-based activities under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA) in United States v. Antonius, No. 21-1083, 2023 WL 4410951 (2d…

What does it mean to “fly” your nation’s flag pursuant to the MDLEA?

Posted on Mar 30Mar 30 by Sean Gajewski

When arguing (or teaching) issues of the MDLEA, we tend to over-think much of the statute’s language, largely due to the seemingly expansive breadth and extraterritorial application of it. However, the question of whether a vessel is “flying” a flag in accordance with the MDLEA (and international law) is an easy one to answer. Luckily,…