United States v. Drew was a United States Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of whether a person can be convicted of a crime for failing to provide medical care to a child. The case involved a father, William Drew, who was charged with violating a federal law that made it a crime to fail to provide medical care to a child. The Supreme Court held that the federal law in question did not apply to Drew because it was not intended to punish parents for failing to provide medical care to their children. The Court reasoned that the law was intended to punish those who willfully and maliciously fail to provide medical care to a child, and that Drew had not acted with such intent. The Court also noted that the law was intended to protect children from abuse and neglect, and that Drew had not abused or neglected his child. The Court's decision in United States v. Drew established that a person cannot be convicted of a crime for failing to provide medical care to a child unless they have acted with the intent to harm the child. This decision has been cited in numerous subsequent cases involving the failure to provide medical care to a child.

In United States v. Drew, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether a defendant could be convicted of larceny for stealing goods from an interstate shipment that had been damaged in transit and abandoned by its owner. The majority opinion held that the defendant could not be convicted because he did not take possession of the property with intent to steal it; rather, he took possession only after it had already been abandoned by its rightful owner. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that Congress intended to protect all interstate shipments against theft regardless of their condition at the time they were taken. He argued further that if a person takes advantage of another's misfortune or negligence and steals goods which have become separated from their owners through no fault on either side, then such conduct should still constitute larceny under federal law.