Dewey J. Jones v. United States

Decided May 22, 2000. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 99-5739 · 529 U.S. 848 (2000) · Cited 504 times

Holding

Because an owner-occupied residence not used for any commercial purpose does not qualify as property “used in” commerce or commerceaffecting activity, arson of such a dwelling is not subject to federal prosecution under § 844(i).

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Russell v. United States · 471 U.S. 858 (1985)
• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Bailey v. United States · 516 U.S. 137 (1995)
• United States v. Bass · 404 U.S. 336 (1971)
• Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. v. Florida Gulf Coast Building & Construction Trades Council · 485 U.S. 568 (1988)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Jones v. United States · 526 U.S. 227 (1999)
• Ratzlaf v. United States · 510 U.S. 135 (1994)
• Garcia v. United States · 469 U.S. 70 (1984)
• Rewis v. United States · 401 U.S. 808 (1971)
• United States v. Universal C. I. T. Credit Corp. · 344 U.S. 218 (1952)
• Bell v. United States · 462 U.S. 356 (1983)
• Ray v. Atlantic Richfield Co. · 435 U.S. 151 (1978)
• Landreth Timber Co. v. Landreth · 471 U.S. 681 (1985)
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Mississippi · 456 U.S. 742 (1982)
• Bennett v. New Jersey · 470 U.S. 632 (1985)
• Asgrow Seed Co. v. Winterboer · 513 U.S. 179 (1995)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Bond v. United States · 572 U.S. 844 (2014)
• Luna Torres v. Lynch · 578 U.S. 452 (2016)
• Ocasio v. United States · 578 U.S. 282 (2016)
• Lockhart v. United States · 577 U.S. 347 (2016)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2000). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).