United States v. Shumway

112 F.3d 1413 (1997)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
U
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

United States v. Shumway

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
112 F.3d 1413 (1997)

  • Written by Robert Cane, JD

Facts

Earl Shumway (defendant) was experienced in looting archaeological sites. That is, he engaged in illegally finding, excavating, and selling archaeological artifacts for profit. Shumway and two others visited two separate archaeological sites, Dop-Ki Cave and Horse Rock Ruin, to loot them. Shumway excavated and removed a burial blanket that had been wrapped around the remains of an infant from Dop-Ki and sandals and a sleeping mat from Horse Rock Ruin. Shumway was indicted and convicted for violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (the act). At trial, the government (plaintiff) established, through the testimony of two archaeologists, that the archaeological value and cost of restoration and repair totaled $137,200 based on the cultural, scientific, and spiritual damage caused by Shumway’s taking of the artifacts. As a result, the sentencing judge implemented a sentencing enhancement of nine points with respect to Shumway’s offense level pursuant to the United States Sentencing Guidelines guidance for offenses in which the property taken was valued at over $120,000. The court used this method rather than the fair market value because the fair market value was a mere $9,122 and did not adequately reflect the damage caused. The district court sentenced Shumway to serve 78 months in prison. Shumway appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Brorby, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 806,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Archaeology
Art Law

Key Terms