Opinion ID: 4245908
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Country-of-Origin Labels

Text: Pina argues that the district court erred by admitting the country-of-origin labels, affixed to the electronic devices seized in 2013, for the purpose of proving that these devices were manufactured outside of Ohio. Appellant Br. at 26. The parties disagree over the applicable standard of review. Appellant Br. at 26; Appellee Br. at 32. If Pina objected to the introduction of these labels below, we would review the district court’s evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion.5 United States v. Morales, 687 F.3d 697, 701–02 (6th Cir. 2012). “In addition, ‘reversal is appropriate only if the abuse of discretion was not harmless error, that is, only if the erroneous evidentiary ruling affected the outcome of the trial.’” Id. at 702 (quoting United States v. Marrero, 651 F.3d 453, 471 (6th Cir. 2011)). On the other hand, if Pina failed to object, we would review under a plain-error standard. Id. at 701. The parties contest whether Pina objected to the introduction of these country-of-origin labels. Appellant Br. at 26; Appellee Br. at 32; see Section I.C supra. Any error arising from the admittance of these labels, however, is harmless; thus, we need not decide 5 Pina argues that we should review the district court’s decision to admit this evidence de novo. Appellant Br. at 26. While we review “de novo the [district] court’s conclusions of law and review[] for clear error the court’s factual determinations that underpin its legal conclusions,” we review the district court’s evidentiary ruling for abuse of discretion. United States v. Geisen, 612 F.3d 471, 495 (6th Cir. 2010) (alterations in original). We have held “that these two standards of review are not in conflict, as it is an abuse of discretion to make errors of law or clear errors of factual determination in evidentiary rulings.” Id. (internal citation and quotation marks omitted). 19 No. 16-4006 United States v. Demian Pina whether Pina properly objected at trial because the controlling standard of review will not change the outcome. Assuming arguendo that the district court abused its discretion by admitting the countryof-origin labels, this error is harmless. Morales, 687 F.3d at 702. In order to prove that Pina violated 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) and (a)(4), the government needed to demonstrate an interstate nexus. As described in detail in Section I.C, the government introduced ample evidence of this required nexus besides the country-of-origin labels affixed to the devices seized in 2013. The child pornography had been downloaded via the internet, through a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. R. 128 (Trial Tr. Day 3 at 14, 36–40, 46–50, 67–98) (Page ID #1035, 1057–61. 1067– 71, 1088–89). And the internet is a “means or facility of interstate commerce.” See Section II.B supra. Additionally, the government offered undisputed evidence that some of the child pornography recovered was produced outside of Ohio, thus allowing the jury to draw the reasonable inference that this child pornography must have travelled across state lines. R. 129 (Trial Tr. Day 4 at 30–31) (Page ID #1268–69). Finally, the expert computer forensic analyst who examined the devices seized in 2011 testified, without objection, that the devices were manufactured outside of the United States. R. 127 (Trial Tr. Day 2 at 42–46) (Page ID #441– 43). Any error arising from the admission of the country-of-origin labels was harmless because of the multiplicity of other evidence demonstrating an interstate nexus. Thus, we reject Pina’s challenge to his conviction based on the introduction of this evidence. 20 No. 16-4006 United States v. Demian Pina III. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons we reject all three of Pina’s arguments as to why his conviction should be reversed. Pina’s rights under the Speedy Trial Act and the Sixth Amendment were not violated when the district court ordered a second mental-health evaluation prior to determining Pina’s competency to stand trial because there were legitimate doubts about the accuracy of the first evaluation. Additionally, the district court did not plainly err by using the Sixth Circuit Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions and instructing the jury that “any means or facility of interstate commerce includes the internet or telephone.” Finally, assuming arguendo that the district court erred by admitting the country-of-origin labels affixed to the devices seized from Pina’s residence in 2013 for the purposes of showing an interstate nexus, this was harmless error. Therefore, we AFFIRM Pina’s conviction on all counts. 21