Seventh Circuit Week in Review: “Abusive Sexual Conduct Involving a Minor” and a Driver’s License Revocation

The Seventh Circuit had two new opinions in criminal cases this past week.  In the first, United States v. Osborne (No. 08-1176), the court considered the scope of 18 U.S.C. §2252(b)(1), which imposes a fifteen-year mandatory minimum sentence on certain child pornography defendants who have a prior conviction “relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor.”  Osborne, convicted of a qualifying pornography offense in federal court, had a prior conviction in Indiana state court for “fondling or touching” a person age fourteen or fifteen “with intent to arouse or . . . satisfy sexual desires.”  Thus, Osborne plainly had a prior conviction for sexual conduct involving a minor, but was it “abusive”?  The district court thought so, but the Seventh Circuit (per Chief Judge Easterbrook) rejected a broad interpretation of “abusive” that would result in all sexual conduct with a minor qualifying — such an approach would essentially write the word “abusive” out of the statute. 

Section 2252 does not define “abusive,” but other federal statutes define “abuse” for other purposes.  The court reasoned that such other statutes should be consulted to determine whether a prior state conviction counts as “abusive sexual conduct.” 

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Can High Medical Bills Cost You Your Job?

In an article in today’s Chicago Tribune, our colleague Paul Secunda suggests that the risks of this happening are higher in the current economic climate.  The article concerns a federal lawsuit in which the plaintiff alleges she was fired because of her husband’s medical bills, which were covered through her employer’s medical plan.  The Seventh Circuit recently reversed the trial court’s dismissal of her claim.  Federal law, of course, generally prohibits employment actions that discriminate on the basis of disability, which may provide a legal foundation for some claims like those of the plaintiff in the Seventh Circuit case.

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Seventh Circuit Week in Review, Part II: Illinois Corruption, Prior Acts Evidence, 911 Calls, and 30 Rock

In my earlier “Week in Review” post, I discussed the Seventh Circuit’s new sentencing decisions.  This post rounds out my review of the Seventh Circuit’s busy week.

In United States v. Turner (No. 07-1062), a jury convicted the defendant of wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI.  Turner was a supervisor in the Illinois Secretary of State’s office.  In that position, he assisted three janitors in a scheme to obtain compensation for work they did not perform.  (Insert your favorite joke about corruption in Illinois state government here.)  On appeal, Turner argued there was no evidence to establish that the fraud was committed by use of the wires.  However, the Seventh Circuit (per Judge Sykes) held it was enough that the janitors’ fraudulently inflated paychecks were direct-deposited in their accounts.  Turner also argued that, since he himself derived no benefit from the fraud, the evidence was insufficient to convict him of “honest services” fraud.  However, the court indicated that the benefit received by the janitors would suffice, and, in any event, “honest services” was only one of two alternative wire fraud theories submitted to the jury.  Finally, Turner argued that the evidence was insufficient to support the false statements conviction because, although he lied to FBI investigators, the investigators were not fooled by what he said.  Again, the court disagreed:

A false statement neen not actually influence the agents to whom it is made in order to satisfy the materiality requirement for this offense; it need only have the possibility of influencing a reasonable agent under normal circumstances.

Turner’s convictions were thus affirmed in all respects.

Continue ReadingSeventh Circuit Week in Review, Part II: Illinois Corruption, Prior Acts Evidence, 911 Calls, and 30 Rock