Opinion ID: 794159
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Ex Post Facto Application of Mandatory Minimum Sentence

Text: 66 As we have noted, Tykarsky was convicted of attempting to persuade, coerce, entice or induce an underage person to engage in illegal sexual activity through the Internet, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b). Pursuant to Section 103 of the PROTECT Act, 117 Stat. 650, which took effect on April 30, 2003, Congress amended § 2422(b) to require a minimum sentence of five years. The evidence that Tykarsky violated § 2422 consisted of nine email and Instant Messenger conversations. The two initial communications were made prior to April 30, 2003 — on April 22 and April 24 — while seven others were made after April 30, 2003. Notwithstanding that the communications straddled the date of the PROTECT Act, the District Court did not provide the jury with a special verdict form. Accordingly, the jury did not make any specific findings as to when the § 2422(b) violation occurred. 67 At sentencing, Tykarsky objected to the use of the amended version of the statute with its five-year mandatory minimum. He argued that the absence of a special verdict regarding the date of the violation precluded the Court from imposing the mandatory minimum. The District Court rejected this argument, concluding that because the only communications arranging the May 21, 2003 meeting at the Holiday Inn were made after April 30, the jury's conviction on Count One — traveling interstate to engage in illegal sexual activity — necessarily required a finding that Tykarsky violated § 2422(b) after April 30. It therefore imposed the mandatory minimum of five years. 16 68 Tykarsky now challenges his sentence on appeal. Absent a special verdict, he contends, there is no way to know whether the jury may have convicted him under § 2422(b) based solely on his conduct prior to April 30, in which case the imposition of the mandatory minimum would violate the Ex Post Facto Clause. The Government concedes that it would violate the Ex Post Facto Clause to impose the mandatory minimum sentence for crimes solely committed prior to April 30, 2003, but asserts that this was a continuing offense. That is, under the Government's theory, all of the communications formed part of a single, continuing plan to meet the putative minor at the Holiday Inn for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. Like a conspiracy, the Government argues, the continuation of the offense past the date of the enhancing statute would resolve any ex post facto problems. See United States v. Harris, 79 F.3d 223, 229 (2d Cir.1996) (It is well-settled that when a statute is concerned with a continuing offense, `the Ex Post Facto clause is not violated by application of a statute to an enterprise that began prior to, but continued after, the effective date of [the statute].') (citations omitted). 69 Because we conclude that this argument was not properly raised below, our review is for plain error. 17 To establish plain error, Tykarsky must show that: (1) an error occurred, (2) the error was plain, (3) the error affected his substantial rights, and (4) the error is one seriously affecting the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings, such that the court should exercise its discretion to correct the error. Johnson v. United States, 520 U.S. 461, 466-467, 117 S.Ct. 1544, 137 L.Ed.2d 718 (1997).
70 We agree with Tykarsky that because the communications spanned two different versions of the statute with different minimum penalties, the question of whether the violation extended beyond the effective date of the amended version was one that had to be resolved by the jury. 18 The Ex Post Facto Clause proscribes any law that `changes the punishment, and inflicts a greater punishment, than the law annexed to the crime when committed.' Miller v. Florida, 482 U.S. 423, 429, 107 S.Ct. 2446, 96 L.Ed.2d 351 (1987) (quoting Calder v. Bull, 3 U.S. (3 Dall.) 386, 390, 1 L.Ed. 648 (opinion of Chase, J.)). Thus, if a defendant completes a crime before an increased penalty takes effect, it would violate his right not to be subject to ex post facto legislation to impose the increased penalty upon him. United States v. Julian, 427 F.3d 471, 482 (7th Cir.2005). This is true even if, as in this case, the law's minimum punishment is not greater than the old law's maximum punishment. See Miller, 482 U.S. at 432-433, 107 S.Ct. 2446 (citing Lindsey v. Washington, 301 U.S. 397, 57 S.Ct. 797, 81 L.Ed. 1182 (1937)). We also conclude that the error in not requiring a special jury finding was plain in that it was an obvious mistake in retrospect. United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 734, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993) (observing that plain error is one which is clear or obvious).
71 We must next determine whether the error affected Tykarsky's substantial rights. See Johnson, 520 U.S. at 466-467, 117 S.Ct. 1544. To affec[t] substantial rights, the error must have been prejudicial. Olano, 507 U.S. at 734, 113 S.Ct. 1770. Tykarsky has been prejudiced if there is a reasonable possibility that a jury, properly instructed on this point, might have found Tykarsky guilty based exclusively on acts that occurred before the increased penalty took effect. See Julian, 427 F.3d at 482 (If a jury, properly instructed on this point, might have found that the conspiracy had come to an end before the increased penalty took effect or that Julian had withdrawn from the conspiracy before that date, then the error is one that implicates the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of the judicial process.); United States v. Torres, 901 F.2d 205, 229 (2d Cir.1990) (finding plain error where it was possible, though improbable, that the jury would have convicted based on pre-enactment conduct); see also United States v. Dobson, 419 F.3d 231, 239-240 (3d Cir.2005) (finding plain error where there was a reasonable likelihood that the error affected the outcome). If, however, a reasonable jury could have concluded only that the attempted persuasion or enticement continued past April 30, then the error did not affect Tykarsky's substantial rights. 72 In Julian, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ultimately determined that the lack of a specific jury finding regarding the dates of involvement in a conspiracy to travel in foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual activity did not prejudice the defendant. 427 F.3d at 483. There, the penalty for engaging in a § 2423(b) conspiracy had increased on October 30, 1998. Id. at 480. There was no real dispute that the conspiracy to which the defendant belonged was in operation both before and after October 30; the sole question was whether a reasonable jury could have found that the defendant withdrew from the conspiracy prior to October 30. Id. at 483. After observing that it is not easy to withdraw from a conspiracy, that it is the defendant's burden to show that he did so, and that there was no evidence of any affirmative acts of withdrawal, the court concluded that no reasonable jury could have found that defendant withdrew from the conspiracy prior to October 30, 1998. Id. 73 Reviewing for harmless error, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reached a similar conclusion in United States v. Harris, concluding that there was no possibility that the jury relied solely on conduct occurring before the enactment of a continuing financial crimes enterprise (CFCE) statute. 79 F.3d at 229. The court observed that the district court's instruction expressly required the jury to find that Harris engaged in a series of acts that necessarily encompassed post-CFCE enactment conduct. Id.; see also United States v. Williams-Davis, 90 F.3d 490, 510 (D.C.Cir.1996) (rejecting defendant's ex post facto claim where there was no possibility that the jury finding could have rested solely on conduct preceding the critical date). 74 By contrast, in United States v. Torres, the Second Circuit, reviewing for plain error, found an ex post facto violation where the defendants were subjected to life sentences based on conduct that straddled the date that the mandatory life sentence provision went into effect. 901 F.2d at 229. Although the court agreed with the Government that it was highly improbable that the jury did not convict based on post-enactment acts, it nonetheless observed: 75 It is clear that (1) it was the government's burden to prove all the elements of section 848(b) beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) the instruction and verdict form allowed a resolution of this issue against the Torres brothers and Flores whether or not they met the requirements of section 848(b)(1) on or after October 27, 1986; (3) the ex post facto rule requires such conduct on or after October 27, 1986, as a constitutional matter, as a basis for a conviction under section 848(b); and (4) as a result of the resolution of this issue adversely to them, these defendants were subjected to the mandatory life sentence imposed by section 848(b), rather than the ten years to life sentence which would otherwise have been applicable under section 848(a). 76 Id. at 229. The court therefore concluded that the mere possibility, however remote under the facts, that the jury convicted based on pre-enactment acts was sufficient to constitute plain error and required a remand for resentencing. Id. 77 Here, we believe there is a possibility that a reasonable jury could have convicted Tykarsky based solely on the pre-April 30 communications. The District Court's reasoning takes the form of a classic non sequitur insofar as it concludes that the jury must have found that Tykarsky violated § 2422(b) after April 30 because it found that he communicated with the putative minor after that date to arrange the meeting at the Holiday Inn. The District Court's major premise is that § 2422(b) proscribes the attempted persuasion, inducement, enticement or coercion of a minor to engage in sexual activity. The minor premise is that Tykarsky arranged the meeting with the putative minor after April 30. But the District Court's conclusion — that Tykarsky therefore violated § 2422(b) — does not follow. 78 Section 2422(b) does not prohibit all communications with a minor; nor does it prohibit all communications that relate to illegal sexual activity. It only proscribes communications that actually or attempt to knowingly persuade, induce, entice or coerce a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity. That Tykarsky arranged the meeting with the putative minor after April 30, therefore, does not establish that he violated § 2422(b) after that date. 79 The problem can be illustrated with a simple hypothetical. Assume that John Doe contacts Jane Minor on April 29 and that they engage in a long Instant Messenger conversation. He promises her various things and asks her to meet up with him for sex. But when he asks her if she is free that night, she says that her parents won't let her leave the house but that she would like to meet the next week. Three days later, on May 1, they engage in another Instant Messenger conversation in which they flirt with one another and schedule a meeting at the local Best Western on May 3. At what point did John Doe violate § 2422(b)? That is, when did the actual or attempted persuasion, inducement, enticement or coercion occur? 80 A jury could endorse the Government's view here that the communications should be considered together and that they constitute a continuing offense in violation of § 2422. It could also conclude that both the April 29 and the May 1 communications independently constituted violations of § 2422(b). But it is also possible for the jury to conclude that only the April 29 communication violated § 2422(b) and that the subsequent May 1 communication did not entail any enticement or persuasion. Indeed, if the April 29 conversation accomplished its purposes of persuading Jane Minor to engage in sexual activity, then there would be no need for any further persuasion or enticement. 81 As in both this hypothetical and Torres, here there is at least a possibility that the jury convicted Tykarsky based solely on pre-PROTECT Act conduct. A reasonable jury could have concluded that because HeatherJet14 already indicated a willingness to engage in sexual activity in the earlier communications, the later communications were either not sufficiently objectively persuasive to constitute a substantial step or were not written with the requisite intent to induce or persuade, see Dhingra, 371 F.3d at 562-563 (observing that § 2422(b) requires not only that the communication be objectively persuasive, but that they be made with the intent to persuade). This case is not like Julian, where the defendant had the burden of proving withdrawal and did not introduce any evidence. It is also unlike Harris, where the district court's instructions required the jury to convict the defendant based on post-enactment acts. The most that can be said here is that it is improbable, rather than impossible, as a factual matter, that the jury convicted Tykarsky exclusively on the basis of pre-April 30 acts. This, however, is insufficient to persuade us that Tykarsky's substantial rights were not affected. 82 Moreover, we should be especially cautious in making assumptions about how a properly instructed jury would have found where, as here, the statute under which the defendant was convicted vests broad discretion in the jury. Although we have concluded that § 2422(b) is not unconstitutionally vague, see supra Section V, we have also observed that the terms persuade, entice, induce and coerce are somewhat imprecise, requiring the consideration of subtle nuances in a given fact pattern. For example, how much more is needed than simply asking? Can a person be guilty if the minor has already indicated that he or she wants to engage in sexual activity? The absence of statutory guidance indicates that the jury, rather than an appellate court, should decide whether and when the defendant crossed the line from mere conversation to attempted persuasion, inducement, enticement or coercion.
83 We turn now to the fourth element of plain error review: whether the error seriously affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of the judicial proceedings. In light of the Government's burden of proving all elements beyond a reasonable doubt and the possibility that the jury convicted Tykarsky based solely on pre-PROTECT Act conduct, we conclude that the District Court's failure to require a special verdict tainted the integrity and reputation of the judicial process. The proscription against ex post facto laws is fundamental to our concept of constitutional liberty. Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188, 191-192, 97 S.Ct. 990, 51 L.Ed.2d 260 (1977); see also The Federalist No. 44, p. 282 (C. Rossiter ed. 1961) ([E]x post facto laws . . . are contrary to the first principles of the social compact and to every principle of sound legislation.). Tykarsky was sentenced to a mandatory minimum pursuant to a statute — the amended version of § 2422(b) — that no jury ever specifically found that he had violated. We therefore conclude that sentencing Tykarsky to the mandatory minimum prescribed by the PROTECT Act constitutes plain error, and we will vacate his sentence. 19 84