ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how the courts resolved the disputed meaning of the terms in question. It presents extracts which are taken from a series of US cases that dealt with the meaning of 'carrying' or 'using' a firearm: an offence contained in the firearms chapter of the federal criminal code, a provision that carries a five-year mandatory prison term. The defendant was charged on several counts, but one disputed charge was whether Bailey should be convicted of 'using' a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. A prosecution expert testified that it is common for drug dealers to carry a firearm to protect themselves in transactions. Both marijuana and a handgun were found in the trunk/boot of the defendant's vehicle. Perhaps due to the reasoning in Bailey, this time the government charged the defendant with 'carrying a firearm'.
