Opinion ID: 2960198
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Joseph’s Objections at the Charge Conference

Text: The charge conference included an extensive discussion regarding the following sentence in the proposed charge: “The government only need[] show, beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant . . . made the possibility of the sexual activity more appealing.” App. at 150.5-.6. There was some additional, albeit brief, discussion of the portion of the charge defining the terms “persuade” and “entice.” Three purported objections to these instructions are at issue in this case, the first of which I believe was not properly made and, in any event, was abandoned. For ease of reference, I will refer to them as objections A, B, and C. Joseph argues, and the majority maintains, that he objected (A) to the language that the government only needed to show that Joseph “made the possibility of the sexual activity more appealing.” The objection, of course, would be that this language leaves out enticement, which is a part of the crime, although enticement is charged elsewhere, including as an alternative theory in the same sentence. The government argues, and I agree, that at trial Joseph did not make objection A (to the “more appealing” language itself); he only objected (B) to the omission of the words “with him,” -26- which he wished to insert just before “more appealing,” and (C) to the proposed charge’s inclusion of explicit definitions for the terms “entice” and “persuade” as opposed to a more general allusion to the plain meaning of those terms. On my reading of the record, the charge conference proceeded in three “phases.” During phase I, Joseph made the broad-brush argument that the proposed charge, which, as the majority notes, was adapted from a Ninth Circuit case, see Maj. Op. at [14], “impermissibly lowers the burden of proof,” App. at 150.2. Rather than identify specific language (such as the “more appealing” language) as erroneous, defense counsel argued that “this charge, here, covers a wide variety of noncriminal conduct.” App. at 150.3 (emphasis added). During phase II, defense counsel, the government, and the district court focused their discussion on objection B. Specifically, the defense objected that “nowhere else in the charge does it say[] that [the defendant] needs to be using [the Internet] to persuade or induce a minor to engage in a sexual act with him.” Id. at 150.3-.4 (emphasis added). The government countered that “everybody understands that what we’re charging him with is making the act of sexual contact more appealing with him, not with somebody else.” Id. at 150.5. And the district court agreed that “[t]here is no question -27- . . . here what we’re talking about.” Id. at 150.7. Objection A was at no point a subject of discussion in phase II. During phase III, defense counsel affirmatively requested that the charge include the “more appealing” language, so that the phrase would read, “[s]exual activity ‘with him’ more appealing.” Id. The government agreed to the insertion of “with him” into the “more appealing” clause, and the district court accepted the change. See id. at 150.8. During this phase, defense counsel also raised objection C when he asked the district court to charge the plain meaning of “entice” or “persuade” without added embellishment. Id. Noticeably absent from the charge conference transcript is any explicit discussion during any phase between defense counsel, the government, and the district court of objection A. Had there been such a discussion, I have little doubt that the conscientious district judge, who labored mightily over the charge, would have addressed the problem.