Oral Argument: Abouammo v. United States | Where's Your Trial, Home Turf or Government's Pick?

Abouammo v. United States | Case No. 25-5146 | Docket Link: Here | Argument: 3/30/36

Question Presented: Whether venue lies in a district where no offense conduct occurred, so long as the statute's intent element contemplates effects that could occur there.

Overview: Ahmad Abouammo created a fake invoice in his Seattle home during an FBI interview, then emailed it to San Francisco agents. The Court now decides whether prosecutors can try document falsification where the targeted investigation sits, not where the defendant acted.

Posture: Ninth Circuit upheld Northern District of California venue; Supreme Court granted certiorari December 2025.

Oral Advocates:

• Petitioner (Abouammo): Tobias Loss-Eaton of Sidley Austin
• Respondent (United States): Anthony A. Yang, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice.

Main Arguments:

Abouammo:

• (1) Venue tracks the offense's essential conduct elements — falsification occurred entirely in Seattle;
• (2) Intent elements cannot anchor venue because mental state does not constitute conduct;
• (3) The Founders embedded the vicinage right twice in the Constitution specifically to reject effects-based prosecution

United States:

• (1) The Constitution permits venue where a crime's effects are intentionally directed and felt, not just where the defendant stood;
• (2) Section 1519 defines an inchoate offense — like conspiracy — and the targeted investigation's location forms part of the crime's commission;
• (3) Even under Abouammo's own theory, emailing the fake PDF to San Francisco created a duplicate falsified record there, independently satisfying venue

Implications: Abouammo victory anchors venue to a person's physical location, giving protection against distant prosecution. On the other hand, it hamstrings prosecutors from bringing digital obstruction crimes that reflects today's technology realities. Government victory allows prosecution in the district of any targeted investigation, giving federal prosecutors broad forum-selection power for any obstruction-related offense nationwide.

The Fine Print:

• 18 U.S.C. § 1519: "Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States . . . shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both."
• U.S. Const. Amend. VI: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law."

Primary Cases:

• United States v. Cabrales (1998): Venue tracks the location of the specific prohibited conduct — not collateral circumstances; money laundering in Florida could not face trial in Missouri simply because the underlying drug proceeds originated there.
• Ford v. United States (1927): Acts done outside a jurisdiction but intended to produce and producing detrimental effects within it warrant prosecuting the defendant as if present at the effect — the foundational intent-and-effects venue principle.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Argument Preview

[00:01:12] Argument Begins

[00:01:21] Abouammo Opening Statement

[00:03:30] Abouammo Free for All Questions

[00:26:27] Abouammo Round Robin Questions

[00:33:40] United States Opening Statement

[00:35:54] United States Free for All Questions

[01:04:34] United States Round Robin Questions

[01:13:58] Abouammo Rebuttal