United States v. Schultz
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
333 F.3d 393 (2004)
Frederick Schultz (defendant), a New York art dealer, and Jonathan Parry purchased and smuggled Egyptian antiquities into the United States for resale, disguising them as cheap souvenirs, and Schultz was indicted for conspiring to receive stolen goods under the National Stolen Property Act (NSPA) based on his violation of Egypt's Law 117, which vested ownership of antiquities in the Egyptian state. Schultz moved to dismiss, arguing Law 117 did not create true ownership rights and that even if it did, the United States should not recognize that form of foreign ownership given a separate federal statute on cultural property; the district court denied the motion and convicted him, and he appealed.
Whether the National Stolen Property Act applies to antiquities taken in violation of a foreign patrimony law that clearly vests ownership of such antiquities in the foreign government, even though a separate federal statute also addresses cultural property import restrictions.