[20180305]LSB10090_飞行中飞机的等效杆弹跳器.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i A Bar Bouncer Equivalent for Planes in Flight March 5, 2018 Two federal appellate courts recently upheld convictions under the federal statute that outlaws intimidating flight attendants aboard a commercial airline. Both cases involved boorish in-flight misconduct, U.S. v. Lynch in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (Tenth Circuit) and U.S. v. Petras in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Fifth Circuit). These cases illustrate judicial practicality and the limits of a 2014 Supreme Court decision, Elonis v. U.S., that recognized a state-of-mind requirement for prosecution under a federal threat statute. Lynch was an inebriated first-class passenger who repeatedly placed his hand on a flight attendants lower back. He shouted vulgarities when the attendant refused to serve him additional drinks, caused two of the flights three attendants to devote their full attention to trying to calm him down to the neglect of their other duties, and prompted the pilot to check on the disturbance leaving the co-pilot alone to handle their cockpit responsibilities. In the second case