President Joe Biden and his administration keep taking hits from the U.S. Supreme Court, and last week's unanimous decision was yet another example of the continued humiliation.
According to The Epoch Times, last week the high court ruled unanimously to limit "the reach of the federal Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act, unanimously rebuffing the Biden administration’s efforts to prosecute a man already convicted of Medicaid fraud with a separate charge of aggravated identity theft arising out of the same fraud case."
Justice Sonia Sotomayor authored the high court's ruling, in the case called Dubin v. United States.
3rd opinion: Dubin v. United States
Unanimous court narrows scope of identity theft laws.
Holds: a defendant “uses” another person’s means of identification “in relation to” a predicate offense when the use is at the crux of what makes the conduct criminal.
— Lydia Wheeler (@WheelerLydia) June 8, 2023
Conservative Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch authored a concurring opinion.
Bloomberg Law explained:
The case centered on David Dubin, who was charged with healthcare fraud for overbilling Medicaid for services his psychological examination company provided to a child at an emergency shelter in Texas.
Because Dubin used the patient’s name in submitting the fraudulent bill, he was also charged and convicted of aggravated identity theft, which added a mandatory two years onto his prison sentence.
In the ruling, Justice Sotomayor wrote that a sweeping reading of the law means that a person could be guilty of aggravated identity theft "automatically any time a name or other means of identification happens to be part of the payment or billing method used in the commission of a long list of predicate offenses.”
She added: "The text and context of the statute do not support such a boundless interpretation."
Dubin v. United Stateshttps://t.co/FJcOzOARJ8 pic.twitter.com/zkjwYbG4v2
— Supreme Court Decision Syllabus Podcast (@scotus_podcast) June 9, 2023
Jeffrey L. Fisher, Dubin's attorney, celebrated the Supreme Court's ruling.
"We’re grateful for the Court’s decision for Mr. Dubin’s sake and are pleased in general that the Court has reined in the prosecutorial overreaching the statute allowed," Fisher said.
No law Biden and Co wont break even double jeopardy! Shite
Government Overreached In Identity Theft Case, Supreme Court Rules Unanimously https://t.co/5fDfmAWy80
— Dawn Wildman (@WildmanDawn) June 14, 2023
With the 2024 presidential election just around the corner, the Biden administration can't afford many more losses in the confidence and optics departments.
They're struggling bad enough as it is, and make no mistake -- other ambitious Democrats smell blood in the water.