United States v. Johnson

MEMORANDUM *

A jury found appellant Keith Manuel Johnson guilty of one count of conspiracy to bring in undocumented aliens, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(2)(B)(ii), and three counts of bringing in undocumented aliens, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(2)(B)(ii). We affirm the conviction and sentence.

I

Johnson first argues that the government lacked the statutory authority to charge him with conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. Section 1324(a)(1) criminalizes certain offenses related to alien smuggling and to harboring and concealing illegal aliens. This section includes a subsection criminalizing conspiracy to commit such acts. See 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(l)(A)(v)(I). But the government prosecuted Johnson under § 1324(a)(2), which does not include a subsection specifically criminalizing conspiracy. Johnson argues, based on the maxim expressio uni-us est exclusio alteñus, that we must read Congress’ silence concerning conspiracy in § 1324(a)(2)-eompared with its specific criminalization of conspiracy in § 1324(a)(l)-as a deliberate decision not to criminalize conspiracy under § 1324(a)(2).

We disagree. The general conspiracy statute, 18 U.S.C. § 371 ,…