Opinion ID: 198874
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: “Primarily Used”3

Text: Cabrera urges that the “primarily used” prong of the “document-making implement” definition refers to an item's “general usage” rather than the particular use to which a defendant put it. The government acknowledges that if it was required to prove that as a general matter, computers, scanners, and printers are primarily used for making identification documents or false identification documents, Cabrera's conviction must be overturned because the court was presented with no evidence supporting that conclusion. The government contends, however, that the relevant inquiry focuses not on the uses of some hypothetical user, but on Cabrera's own primary use of the computer system. We share the government's view, and find that a jury reasonably could have found that Cabrera's equipment was “primarily used” for the fabrication of documents as that term is set forth in former § 1028. First, as the government notes, Congress could have used a word such as “generally” in lieu of “primarily” if it intended the meaning that Cabrera proposes. Congress's choice 3 Judge Lynch agrees with the foregoing analysis regarding the “specially designed” prong. She also believes that a jury reasonably could have convicted Cabrera under the “primarily designed” prong, but would employ a standard different from that posited below. Thus, she joins the opinion to this point, as well as Part II and the opinion's conclusion, but declines to join this section. -12- not to use that term suggests that it did not intend the inquiry to focus on an item's typical use within society. Relatedly, the section's legislative history suggests that Congress fully expected § 1028 to cover implements that were “generally” used for purposes other than the fabrication of documents. The House Judiciary Committee report noted that “specialized paper or ink” could constitute document-making implements under the “primarily used” prong. H.R. Rep. No. 97-802, at 11, reprinted in 1982 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 3530. Paper and ink -- even “specialized” paper and ink -- are not “generally” used for the production of false identification documents, but could, in a given case, be “primarily used” in the service of such ends by a particular defendant. The committee's remarks, then, lend credence to the government's case-specific interpretation of the “primarily used” prong. Moreover, the treatment which former § 1028 has been accorded by the courts suggests that “primarily used” refers to the defendant's primary use of the item in question. While no court appears to have analyzed the meaning of this prong, it has been found to encompass an assortment of paraphernalia not “generally” used for illicit purposes, including laminating machines, plastic laminating pouches, packets of rub-on letters, erasers, tape, scissors, and small photographs. See, e.g., -13- United States v. Castellanos, 165 F.3d 1129, 1130 (7th Cir. 1999); United States v. Pearce, 65 F.3d 22, 24-26 (4th Cir. 1995). Finally, as the government points out, at least one other statute with language similar to § 1028's has been treated in a manner consistent with the government's position here. The statute prohibiting fraud in connection with an “access device” addresses, inter alia, “device-making equipment,” and defines that term to mean “any equipment, mechanism, or impression designed or primarily used for making an access device or a counterfeit access device.” 18 U.S.C. § 1029(e)(6) (1994 & Supp. 1998) (emphasis added). The Eleventh Circuit, in applying this statute, examined whether a defendant's mobile phone was primarily used to make an access device or a counterfeit access device. See United States v. Morris, 81 F.3d 131, 132-34 (11th Cir. 1996). Although the court ultimately found that it was primarily used by the defendant for making telephone calls and that it therefore did not fall within the ambit of § 1029(e)(6), the court's very pursuit of the inquiry reflected its belief that what mattered was the particular use to which the defendant put the device, not its “general” use within society. See id. -14- The evidence showed that Cabrera repeatedly used his computer, scanner, printer, software, and digitized templates to create false identification documents. This system was used in conjunction with laminates, Exacto blades, a supply of photographic-quality paper, and genuine identification documents. There was no evidence to demonstrate that Cabrera used his system for any other purpose. The jury thus reasonably could have found that this equipment was “primarily used” for Cabrera's document production. II. Curtailment of Agent Mooney's Cross-Examination Cabrera also challenges the district court's refusal to allow his attorney to cross-examine Mooney regarding the “primary use” to which other individuals generally put computers. In view of the preceding ruling, this testimony would have been irrelevant, and therefore inadmissible. See Fed. R. Evid. 401; Fed. R. Evid. 402. “We generally will reverse a district court's admissibility determinations under Federal Rule[] of Evidence 402 . . . only in extraordinarily compelling circumstances.” United States v. Rosario-Diaz, 202 F.3d 54, 70 (1st Cir. 2000). No such circumstances warrant reversal here. -15-