Allow me to note that it is utter abhorrent to me that we would base a US law on whether or not a US citizen in the US violated the law of another country. How this can be Constitutional is beyond me.
see also:
Keeping US Safe From Plastic-packed Lobster Tails
Complexity of laws leading to “over-criminalization” of America?
By Robert Longley,
Diane Huang, a small business owner from New Jersey, is scheduled to enter federal prison on July 21, where she will begin serving a two-year sentence for purchasing undersized lobster tails shipped in clear plastic bags. Under the Lacey Act, a U.S. law, it is illegal to take wildlife in violation
of foreign law. The lobsters Ms. Huang purchased violated obscure laws of Honduras because they were shipped in clear plastic bags, rather than opaque cardboard boxes, and a small percentage of the lobsters did not measure to
5.5 inches in length....
In 1999, Huang was charged with a felony count of conspiracy to smuggle (Huang was in the supply chain, having purchased the “unlawful” lobster tails). However, the Honduran laws, which served as the basis for the U.S. government’s case against Ms. Huang, are no longer valid – a fact the
government of Honduras pointed out when it filed an amicus brief with both the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Huang’s conviction along with those of three others, were upheld in March 2003.
Commenting on the plight of Huang, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Legal Foundation Executive Director Karen Harned said, “Sharing stories like that of Diane Huang can go far in shedding light on the dark corner of government prosecution. But perhaps just as significant
is that Diane’s story serves as an example of how easily the life of a small-business owner can be turned upside down by the more than 4,000 separate federal criminal offenses on the books that could send any small-business owner to the same place Diane Huang is going – prison.”....
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/rightsandfreedoms/a/alobsterstail.htm
In the case of Gibson Guitars, they were accused of violating a foreign law regarding lumbering. The country involved denies that Gibson violated that law. How can a US citizen adjudicate such a question in US court? They cannot!
When you get picked out to be crucified, they don't want you crawling down off of that cross.