Supreme Court limits Identity Theft Law

Supreme Court limits identity theft law

In a unanimous decision, the justices say an illegal worker must know he is using a real person's Social Security number.

By David G. Savage
May 5, 2009

Reporting from Washington -- The Supreme Court on Monday took away one of the government's tools for prosecuting and deporting workers in this country illegally, ruling that the crime of identity theft was limited to those who knew they were using another person's Social Security number.

People who use false documents can be jailed, the court said. But they cannot be convicted of the more serious crime of "aggravated identity theft" without proof that they knew the identification number belonged to someone else, the court ruled unanimously.

The ruling on identity theft will probably boost the Obama administration's plan to target employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, rather than focusing on illegal workers.

Deportation is usually a slow process if the illegal immigrant does not have a serious felony on his record. But a conviction for aggravated identity theft would most likely lead to a speedy deportation.

Last year, the Bush administration announced roundups of illegal immigrants at several workplaces. Most of those arrested were charged with possessing false documents and aggravated identity theft. For example, 389 workers were detained at a meat-packing plant in Iowa; two-thirds of them were charged with felony identity theft.

The novel use of the law prompted the Supreme Court to take up the issue. Five years ago, Congress strengthened the penalties against thieves who stole identities and used the information to take money from people's bank accounts or charge expenses to them. It called for a mandatory two-year prison term for each offense....

...And the law suggested the criminal had to intend to steal a person's identity. It referred to someone who "knowingly" uses the identification of another person.

The court said the provision did not cover an illegal worker with a phony Social Security card who did not know whether its numbers were those of an actual person.

Justice Stephen G. Breyer cited some common examples. "If we say that someone knowingly ate a sandwich with cheese, we normally assume that the person knew both that he was eating a sandwich and that it contained cheese," he said. (Full text at www.latimes.com)

So, if I understand this ruling correctly, we can eat a cheese sandwich and it is okay as long as we don't know that the cheese belonged to somebody else. It seems that "ignorance is no excuse for violating the law" was just thrown out.

So if you are an illegal immigrant and use a social security number (that you know does not belong to you) then it is okay if you remember to say, "I didn't know it belonged to someone else."

If the Justices had their social security numbers being used, and the individuals claimed tax exempt that were using them, maybe when the IRS sent them a huge tax bill they would have a different outlook.

Chalk another one up for the criminals.

To learn more about Identity Theft and what to do if you are a victim, visit www.StopIdTheftCrime.com and subscribe to the newsletter to obtain your free 46 page eBook "Fighting Back Against Identity Theft".

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