ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, December 7, 1995             TAG: 9512070087
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-13 EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times 

DRUG DEALERS WIN UNDER GUN RULING WEAPON MUST BE IN HAND FOR ADD-ON

In a rare victory for convicted drug criminals, the Supreme Court Wednesday narrowed a key federal law that adds an extra five-year prison term for a drug dealer who ``uses or carries'' a gun.

Until Wednesday, prosecutors and most federal courts have imposed that extra punishment if a weapon is found in the drug dealer's car, in a locked trunk or even a closet in his home.

If the weapon was ``accessible'' to a drug trafficker, it was used in the commission of his crimes because it provided protection, prosecutors said.

But in a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court threw out that definition as too broad. From now on, a criminal must hold, brandish or fire the weapon to get the extra punishment, the justices said. The ``mere possession'' of a gun is not enough, they added.

A Justice Department spokesman could not offer a precise figure on how many would be affected by the ruling, but it was certainly ``in the hundreds,'' he said. Inmates also could seek to shorten their term based on the decision.

Though the outcome may seem surprising for a generally conservative high court, the outcome probably has less to do with ideology than semantics.

Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative who is the Supreme Court's leading literalist, has insisted that the justices follow the strict meaning of words written into law. Two years ago, during an argument in a related case, he commented that no one would say, ``I use a cane'' to mean he has a cane hanging on a hook in his closet.

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