Opinion ID: 2972045
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: United States v. Root

Text: The facts in Root are similar to the facts presented in the instant case.7 Defendant Root was convicted on two counts pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 2422(b) and 2423(b) and received a two level enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2A3.2(b)(2)(B). Root, 296 F.3d at 1227. On appeal, Root argued that § 2A3.2(b)(2)(B) should not apply “because there was no real victim whose will was overborne.” Id. at 1233. The Eleventh Circuit, the first of any circuit to consider the question of whether the enhancement could apply in an undercover sting operation, ruled that § 2A3.2(b)(2)(B) does apply in cases where the “victim” is an undercover agent. Id. at 1232. In so deciding, the court noted first that the enhancements provided for in § 2A3.2(b) apply to both completed criminal acts and attempts. Id. The court further noted that the Guideline’s definition of victim explicitly includes undercover law enforcement officers who have represented that they are under sixteen years of age. Id. The court decided that because the definition of victim in the Sentencing Guidelines was amended for the express purpose of ensuring that defendants apprehended through undercover sting operations are appropriately punished, the two level sentence enhancement pursuant to § 2A3.2(b)(2)(B) should apply to Root’s sentence. Id. at 1234. 7 An undercover agent using the screen name “Jenny30043 logged onto an AOL chat room entitled “I Love Older Men.” Root, 296 F.3d at 1224. Defendant Root contacted “Jenny” through instant messaging, and the two engaged in sexually explicit conversations over the course of the next three days. Id. at 1224-26. On the fourth day after the initial instant messaging between “Jenny” and Root, Root traveled to a mall in Georgia to meet with “Jenny,” where he was arrested by FBI agents. Id. at 1226. No. 04-5020 United States v. Chriswell Page 7 Although the court noted that the comments to the Sentencing Guidelines explicitly direct courts to consider whether the defendant’s conduct compromised the victim’s will, the court found that such an inquiry was impossible in cases dealing with an undercover agent. Id. Therefore, the court held that the district court must focus instead on the offender’s conduct in determining the applicability of § 2A3.2(b)(2)(B). Id. Though the court acknowledged that the effect on the victim would be “dispositive” in cases involving an actual underage victim, the court found that it would be “illogical” to interpret § 2A3.2(b)(2)(B) to require such an inquiry where an undercover agent was involved, as such a requirement would undercut the Guideline’s purpose in amending the definition of victim to include undercover agents. Id. The court decided, therefore, that in focusing on the offender’s conduct when evaluating the appropriateness of a two level enhancement pursuant to § 2A3.2(b)(2)(B), one must determine whether the defendant “displays an abuse of superior knowledge, influence and resources.” Id. The court further determined that the rebuttable presumption of undue influence where the age difference between the victim and the defendant is greater than ten years should apply in cases involving undercover agents, and that the age disparity should be measured by the difference between the age the undercover officer claimed to be and the actual age of the defendant. Id. at 1234-35. The court found that Root had indeed acted to unduly influence the victim, because he had used superior knowledge, influence and resources in his online conversations with the undercover law enforcement officer. Id. at 1236. Therefore, the court found that the facts were sufficient to support a finding that § 2A3.2(b)(2)(B) applied. Id. United States Circuit Judge Cornelia Kennedy, a member of this court sitting on the Eleventh Circuit by designation, dissented, arguing that § 2A3.2(b)(2)(B) should not apply where no criminal sexual activity, or at the very least, influence over an actual victim, has taken place. Id. (Kennedy,