Cert Grant: What Is “Knowing” Identity Theft?
A federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1028A, imposes a mandatory two-year prison sentence on defendants who “knowingly” use “a means of identification of another person” in the course of committing a felony. The two years is in addition to the sentence imposed for the underlying felony. But what exactly does the word “knowingly” refer to in the statute: is it enough that the defendant knew that he was using a means of identification, or must the government also prove that the defendant knew the identification belonged to another person? This is the question raised in a case that the Supreme Court agreed to hear earlier today, United States v. Flores-Figueroa. The unpublished opinion below can be found at 2008 WL 1808508.
SCOTUS Blog summarizes the facts as follows: