3rd Circuit: Commerce Clause Criminalizes Arson Of Rental Property For Benefits

Mealey's (October 16, 2017, 11:51 AM EDT) -- PHILADELPHIA — A woman cannot seek to rescind her guilty plea on one count of malicious destruction of property by fire, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 12, finding that the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution criminalizes the destruction of the rental property she set fire to in order to submit a fraudulent claim for insurance proceeds (United States of America v. Andrea Forsythe, No. 17-1019, 3rd Cir., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 19941)....