Seventh Circuit Week in Review, Part I: Search & Seizure, Interrogation, and Sentencing

The Seventh Circuit had a busy week, with seven new opinions in criminal cases.  Two dealt with the same question of what constitutes a criminal attempt to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.  I’ll discuss those two opinions in a separate post.  The remaining five, considered below, addressed a diverse range of issues relating to Fourth Amendment rights, police interrogation, and the application of the federal sentencing guidelines.

In United States v. Budd (No. 08-1319), the defendant was convicted of possessing child pornography on his home computers.  After Budd left one of his computers at a shop for repairs, a shop employee found a file titled, “A Three Year Old Being Raped,” and reported the matter to police.  An officer took custody of the computer, but police otherwise did almost nothing on the case for the next month.  Eventually, Budd contacted the police department himself to report what he believed to be the theft of his computer by the repair shop.  Budd’s phone call led to his interrogation at the police station, a search of his apartment (where another computer was found), and (finally) a search warrant for the computers.  After he was charged, Budd moved to suppress incriminating statements he made to police, as well as images found on the computers, contending that these were all “fruits of the poisonous tree” of the illegal seizure of the first computer.  The district court denied the motion. 

Continue ReadingSeventh Circuit Week in Review, Part I: Search & Seizure, Interrogation, and Sentencing

Seventh Circuit Week in Review: A Good Week for Defendants

The Seventh Circuit had two new opinions in criminal cases last week, both of which delivered partial wins to the defendant.  In United States v. Colon (No. 07-3929), the defendant was arrested after purchasing cocaine from two sellers, Saucedo and Rodriguez, who happened to be under police surveillance at the time.  Colon was then charged and ultimately convicted of (1) possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, (2) conspiring with Saucedo and Rodriguez to distribute cocaine, and (3) aiding and abetting the conspiracy.  However, the Seventh Circuit (per Judge Posner) ultimately found that the evidence did not support convictions on the latter two charges. 

Criminal law students (at least my criminal law students) will immediately recognize the basic legal issue: when does a buyer-seller relationship give rise to conspiracy and complicity liability? 

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Seventh Circuit Week in Review: What Do a MySpace Predator, an Unrepresented Corporation, and a Pair of Meth Traffickers Have in Common?

Answer: They all lost their appeals in the Seventh Circuit last week.  In fact, our diligent Seventh Circuit judges issued five new opinions in criminal cases last week, and the defendants lost in all of them.  Here are the highlights:

In the MySpace case, United States v. Morris (No. 08-2329), the defendant attempted to contact a minor through the minor’s MySpace page.  The minor’s mother responded by creating her own MySpace page, in which she posed as a 15 year old, and began a series of communications with the defendant.  After the mom agreed to have sex with him, Morris mailed a bus ticket to her so that they could meet.  The mom reported Morris to the FBI, resulting in his arrest and prosecution.  After his conviction for attempting to transport a minor across state lines to engage in illegal sexual conduct, Morris raised a single issue on appeal: that the person he intended to transport across state lines was neither a minor nor a law enforcement officer posing as a minor, but a private citizen conducting her own sting operation.  However, it is well established in such cases that the defendant has no defense if his intended victim is really an undercover law enforcement officer, and the Seventh Circuit (per Judge Posner) found no basis for distinguishing undercover private citizens: in either situation, the criminal justice system appropriately punishes the defendant for his demonstrated dangerousness. 

Continue ReadingSeventh Circuit Week in Review: What Do a MySpace Predator, an Unrepresented Corporation, and a Pair of Meth Traffickers Have in Common?