Suspecting a black man who'd been running through Glynn County, Ga. neighborhood of recent burglaries, white men hop in trucks, chase him down, block his path, and shoot him dead. They're convicted of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in state court. Afterward, they're convicted in federal court of attempted kidnapping and interference with their rights. Eleventh Circuit: Convictions affirmed. Automobiles are per se instrumentalities of interstate commerce, so their use of the truck to chase the man and prevent his escape qualifies as federal attempted kidnapping. Dissent: They didn't leave the neighborhood, let alone the state, they didn't use the interstate highway system, they didn't use their phones or text messages, and they didn't use the internet. Courts should take a case-by-case approach, rather than adopt a per se rule, to determine if a crime used interstate commerce and is thus appropriately federal.
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