Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Frankfort.
Nos. 3:19-cr-00010-1; 3:20-cr-00002-1—Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, District Judge.
Argued: April 22, 2021
Decided and Filed: May 5, 2022
Before: KETHLEDGE, STRANCH, and BUSH, Circuit Judges.
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OPINION
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KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judge. At issue in this case is whether Congress has plenary
power to regulate the conduct of American citizens after they travel overseas. Micky Rife, a
Kentucky-born U.S. citizen, travelled to Cambodia and, years later, sexually abused two girls.
After returning to Kentucky, he pled guilty to engaging in illicit sexual conduct abroad in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c). Rife now argues that Congress lacked power to regulate the
conduct for which he was convicted. We agree with him that Congress’s power under the
Foreign Commerce Clause does not support his conviction. But we also conclude—based on
Supreme Court precedent alone—that § 2423(c) as applied here was within Congress’s power to
enact legislation implementing treaties. We therefore affirm his conviction. |