Fifth Circuit Renders Own Interpretation Of U.S. Supreme Court’s Santos Decision

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Aug. 13 adopted its own interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s split decision in United States v. Santos, 553 U.S. 507, 3 WCR 379 (2008) (Garland v. Roy).

Santos addressed the meaning of the term “proceeds” as used in the pre-2009 money laundering statute, and the federal appeals courts are all over the place with regard to the ruling’s precedential effect.

In Santos, three justices agreed with Justice Antonin Scalia that the term “proceeds” should always mean “profits” rather than gross receipts. The deciding vote in the case ...