United States v. Miller

Procedural entryThis page is a short order in United States v. Miller. Read the opinion of the Court — 527 F.3d 54
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit·Decided June 2, 2008·No. 06-5187·Published

Opinion

Opinions of the United 2008 Decisions States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

6-2-2008

USA v. Miller Precedential or Non-Precedential: Precedential

Docket No. 06-5187

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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT __________

No. 06-5187 __________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v.

DONALD R. MILLER JR., Appellant __________

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Criminal No. 04-CR-0027) District Judge: Honorable Malcolm Muir ______

Argued February 1, 2008

Before: RENDELL and CHAGARES, Circuit Judges, and POLLAK,* District Judge. (Filed: June 2, 2008) ____________ * Honorable Louis H. Pollak, District Judge for the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation. Ronald A. Krauss, Esquire [ARGUED] Office of Federal Public Defender 100 Chestnut Street, Suite 306 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101-0000 Counsel for Appellant Donald R. Miller Jr.

Christian A. Fisanick, Esquire [ARGUED] Office of United States Attorney 235 North Washington Avenue P. O. Box 309, Suite 311 Scranton, Pennsylvania 18503-0000

Theodore B. Smith, III, Esq. Office of United States Attorney 228 Walnut Street, Suite 220 P. O. Box 11754 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17108-0000 Counsel for Appellee United States of America

______

OPINION OF THE COURT ______

2 POLLAK, District Judge:

Pursuant to a jury trial in the District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Donald R. Miller was found guilty of (1) receiving child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2), (2) possessing the same images of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B), and (3) marijuana possession, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 844(a). Miller was sentenced to concurrent terms of 46 months’ imprisonment on the two child pornography counts and a concurrent term of 12 months’ imprisonment on the marijuana count. In calculating the applicable sentencing range under the Sentencing Guidelines, the District Court found that Miller, in the course of his testimony at trial, had committed perjury, and accordingly applied a two-level sentencing enhancement for obstruction of justice, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1 (2003). On appeal, Miller argues (1) that there was not sufficient evidence to support his conviction for receiving child pornography, (2) the Constitution’s double jeopardy clause barred entry of separate convictions for receiving and possessing the same images of child pornography, and (3) the record does not support the District Court’s finding that Miller committed perjury.

We conclude that Miller’s conviction for receiving child pornography was supported by substantial evidence. However, we further hold that (a) the double jeopardy clause barred convictions for both receiving and possessing the same images

3 of child pornography, and (b) the entry of guilty verdicts on both of these counts was plain error. We also hold that Miller’s testimony regarding his collection of adult pornography was neither willfully false nor material, as those terms are to be understood in the context of perjury, and thus did not support a sentencing enhancement. Accordingly, we will vacate the District Court’s judgment and remand this case for re-sentencing consistent with this opinion.

I.

In January 2004, the FBI searched Miller’s home while investigating the uploading of child pornography onto a website hosted by Prime Media, a company in Utah. In the basement of the house, the agents found a zip disk containing 1200-1400 images,1 twenty of which, according to the government, depicted child pornography. (The District Court later found, for the purpose of calculating Miller’s sentence, that eleven of these twenty images constituted child pornography). The agents also found 55.5 grams of marijuana in a jewelry box in Miller’s wife’s bedroom.

1 A “zip disk” is a portable storage device that looks similar to a conventional 3.5-inch “floppy” disk, but has significantly greater storage capacity than a floppy disk. A zip disk may be used on a computer equipped with a “zip drive.”

4 In the month of the search, January 2004, a grand jury charged Miller with two counts of child pornography relating to the images uploaded onto the Prime Media website. In November 2004, a five-count superseding indictment charged Miller with: (count one) receiving child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2), based on the images found on the zip disk; (count two) transporting and shipping child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(1); (count three) receiving and distributing child pornography, also in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2); (count four) possessing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B), based on the images found on the zip disk; and (count five) marijuana possession, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 844(a).

At trial, the jury found Miller guilty both of receiving child pornography stored on the zip disk, count one, and of possessing the same images of child pornography, count four. The jury also found Miller guilty of marijuana possession, count five. However, the jury acquitted Miller of counts two and three. Miller timely filed a Rule 29(c) motion for judgment of acquittal, which the District Court denied.

Miller’s presentence investigation report (“PSR”), prepared by the Probation Office, recommended that the District Court apply three two-level enhancements to Miller’s base offense level under the Guidelines. Miller objected to these enhancements, and the District Court held an evidentiary hearing to address his objections. The District Court determined

5 that one of the recommended enhancements was inapplicable,2 but accepted the other two. The first of the two enhancements was for possession of ten or more images of child pornography, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2(b), based on the District Court’s finding, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Miller possessed eleven images of child pornography (including two images that were duplicates of one another).

The second enhancement was for obstruction of justice, pursuant to U.S.S.G.

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