United States v. Larsen

When Teri Jendusa-Nicolai went to the home of her ex-husband, David Larsen (defendant), Larsen began beating and strangling her. Larsen then bound Jendusa-Nicolai’s extremities and placed her in a garbage can filled with snow. Larsen drove from his home in Wisconsin to a storage facility in Illinois. Larsen left Jendusa-Nicolai inside of the garbage can in a rented storage locker. During the drive, Jendusa-Nicolai was able to call 911 multiple times to alert them of the situation before Larsen confiscated her cell phone. That same evening, Larsen arrived at his place of work and was arrested. The police found business cards from the storage facility in Larsen’s wallet. The police alerted the storage owner of the situation. The storage owner opened Larsen’s unit and found Jendusa-Nicolai. Jendusa-Nicolai survived but suffered extreme health consequences and a miscarriage. The United States (plaintiff) charged Larsen with interstate domestic violence under the Interstate Domestic Violence Act (IDVA) and with kidnapping. Larsen was convicted of both offenses. Larsen appealed. Larsen claimed that the IDVA was unconstitutional because Congress had improperly exceeded its Commerce Clause powers granted in Article I of the United States Constitution by passing the act. Larsen also claimed that his rights under the Double Jeopardy Clause granted by the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution had been violated because he had been punished under the IDVA and under a federal kidnapping statute for the same act.