Brief filed: 05/19/2025
Documents
United States v. Parviz
9th Circuit Court of Appeals; Case No. 22-50160
Argument(s)
NACDL urges the Ninth Circuit to grant rehearing or rehearing en banc to reconsider the panel's overly expansive interpretation of two key elements of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A—“use” and “without lawful authority.” The panel’s ruling threatens to collapse the aggravated identity theft statute into its predicate offenses, in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s narrowing instruction in Dubin v. United States, 599 U.S. 110 (2023). NACDL argues that Parviz’s use of another person’s name and provider ID number to lend credibility to a false passport application was ancillary to the offense and not the crux of the fraud. The brief warns that the panel’s reading of “use” ignores the requirement that identity misuse must be central to the underlying offense, not merely facilitative. Similarly, the panel’s interpretation of “without lawful authority” eliminates the significance of consent and improperly criminalizes conduct where identifying information is used with permission, risking broad and unjust applications of § 1028A. The decision conflicts with the en banc Seventh Circuit’s interpretation in United States v. Spears, 729 F.3d 753 (7th Cir. 2013), and risks reopening the overbreadth Dubin sought to close.
Author(s)
Sarah A. Hemmendinger, Madison J. Ferraro, Arielle J. Rodriguez, and Lauren F. Trombetta, Sidley Austin LLP, San Francisco, CA; Robin E. Wechkin, NACDL Signatory, Sidley Austin LLP, Issaquah, WA
