People of Guam v. Benny Toves Guerrero

We must decide whether the Supreme Court of Guam may interpret the Territory of Guam’s “Bill of Rights,” which is a federal statute, to allow greater religious freedom than that provided by the First Amendment to the federal Constitution.

I

Police officers of the Territory of Guam arrested Benny Toves Guerrero at the Guam International Airport after they found five ounces of marijuana and ten grams of marijuana seeds in his belongings. He was duly indicted under Guam’s statutes criminalizing the importation of controlled substances. 9 Guam Code Ann. §§ 67.23 (d)(10), 67.89(a), 80.33.7. Guerrero moved to dismiss his indictment on the ground that the statutes violated his right freely to exercise his religion — Rastafarianism—under the Organic Act of Guam (“Organic Act”), 48 U.S.C. §§ 1421 et seq., and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000bb et seq.

The Superior Court of Guam found, and the government does not dispute, that Rastafarianism is a legitimate religion of which Guerrero is a legitimate member. People v. Guerrero, No. CF0001-91, at 4 (Sup.Ct. Guam July 23, 1999). It also found that marijuana use is sacramental in the practice of that…