Arjun Prakash

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Comment
Volume 89.8
“Contrary to Law”: Determining the Scope of Qualifying Predicate Offenses for 18 U.S.C. § 545
Arjun Prakash
B.A. 2019, Yale University; J.D. Candidate 2023, The University of Chicago Law School.

I would like to thank my family for their constant and unwavering support. Also, thank you to Professor Adam Chilton and the editors of the University of Chicago Law Review for their help and advice. 

This Comment seeks to resolve an ongoing dispute among courts regarding the correct interpretation of “contrary to law” in 18 U.S.C. § 545, a statute that criminalizes the unlawful importation of goods. In particular, courts disagree about whether “contrary to law” includes administrative regulatory violations, which would massively expand the applicability of § 545’s severe criminal penalties.