Court Opinion

ID: 9438579
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 05:49:40.182769+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:25:46.065004
License: Public Domain

HUG, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part:
As I see this case Wright was charged with offenses in ten counts. He was acquitted on all counts except Count 2 and Count 3, which are the subject of this appeal. Count 2 charged Wright with shipping child pornography by computer in interstate commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(c)(1)(A), (c)(2)(A) and (d). Count 3 charged Wright with possession of child pornography on a computer hard drive. Both counts require for federal jurisdiction the requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(1) that the child pornography be knowingly mailed, transported or shipped in interstate or foreign commerce.
The majority opinion holds that this requirement is not met for Count 2 but is met for Count 3. Thus the remainder of the opinion concerns only Count 3 — the possession count. I agree with the interstate commerce rulings and I also agree with the majority opinion’s discussion of all of the remaining issues regarding Count 3 except the necessity to remand for additional findings on the suppression issue.
The ruling of the district court was terse and the judge did not make specific findings. The court stated, “after hearing the evidence and reviewing the memorandum filed by counsel, the Court will deny the motion to suppress the statements.” I agree with the Government’s brief, pages 53-58, that the error was not “plain” and further, it was not error because the ruling permitted appellate review of the legal questions involved even though detailed findings were not made. This was a case where the statements of the government agents and Wright’s statements were diametrically opposed. It was simply a matter of credibility and the district court obviously believed the government agents as to what happened — Wright was not in handcuffs, he was given a Miranda warning, and he did not make an unambiguous request for a lawyer. Wright even later admitted at trial his statements were voluntary. It is obvious what the district court found and it would simply be mechanical to detail it. I would prefer we simply affirm that conviction and the 60 month sentence.