Court Opinion

ID: 9480897
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 08:02:16.534836+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:47:59.550454
License: Public Domain

LAY, Chief Judge,
dissenting.
In Hampton v. United States, 425 U.S. 484, 96 S.Ct. 1646, 48 L.Ed.2d 113 (1975), the Supreme Court recognized that “the entrapment defense ‘focus[es] on the intent or predisposition of the defendant to commit the- crime,’ rather than upon the conduct of the Government’s agents.” Id. at 488, 96 S.Ct. at 1649 (quoting United States v. Russell, 411 U.S. 423, 429, 93 S.Ct. 1637, 1641, 36 L.Ed.2d 366 (1973)); see also United States v. Thoma, 726 F.2d 1191, 1197 (7th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 467 U.S. 1228, 104 S.Ct. 2683, 81 L.Ed.2d 878 (1984) (entrapment is established as a matter of law if the uncontroverted evidence indicates that a defendant was not predisposed to commit a crime).
In the present case, it is clear the government entrapped Jacobson as a matter of law. Jacobson is a fifty-seven year old *471farmer from Newman Grove, Nebraska. Prior to his conviction, Jacobson’s criminal record reflected only a 1958 conviction for driving while under the influence.
On February 4, 1984, Jacobson lawfully ordered from Dennis Odom, a California businessman, two nudist magazines and a brochure. Several months later, the government obtained Odom’s mailing list, which included Jacobson’s name. Although the government possessed no information that Jacobson had previously purchased obscene materials, he nevertheless became the target of five undercover sting operations. Over a period of two and one-half years, the government, using as a subterfuge various fictitious organizations, repeatedly solicited Jacobson through the mail to purchase illegal pornography. Jacobson finally succumbed to the government’s pressure by ordering “Boys Who Love Boys," a pornographic magazine.
From the uncontroverted facts in this case, it is readily apparent that Jacobson was not predisposed to commit the crime of receiving through the mails sexually explicit materials depicting a minor. The government contends that Jacobson had the requisite predisposition based on his answer to a survey that indicated he was interested in pre-teen sex magazines. Jacobson’s response merely demonstrates that the government set out to entrap him because he had legally ordered two magazines that later proved to be obscene. Based on Jacobson’s prior history, it is not clear that he would knowingly and voluntarily violate the law by purchasing obscene materials. The evidence fails to show that Jacobson was predisposed to commit the crime of which he was ultimately convicted.
I find the government’s conduct in this case to be reprehensible. The government invested considerable time and money to prosecute a man who never would have committed a crime but for the government’s encouragement. The government should not concentrate its efforts on incriminating innocent individuals; rather it should strive to suppress criminal behavior.