Postal Service v. Konan · ¶65

Indeed, before this Court, the Government emphasizes re- peatedly that “negligent transmission” is “significant” be- cause the term “shows that Congress knew how to exclude intentional misconduct when it wanted to.”Brief for Peti- tioners 3, 17, 35.Yet, according to the Government and the majority, this was a hollow choice.In their view, Congress excluded some set of intentional conduct through the “negli- gent transmission” modifier only to sweep that conduct back into the exception through “miscarriage” and “loss.”The majority adopts the Government’s definition of “miscarriage” as capturing situations where “mail fail[s] to arrive prop- erly,” regardless of the actor’s intent.Ante, at 399.It also adopts the Government’s definition of “loss” as capturing the “deprivation of mail,” regardless, again, of the depriver’s in- tent.Ante, at 401.It is difficult to see how a postal em- ployee could…

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