United States v. Raymond Devore

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedMay 31, 2019
Docket17-30205
StatusUnpublished

This text of United States v. Raymond Devore (United States v. Raymond Devore) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Raymond Devore, (9th Cir. 2019).

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MAY 31 2019 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 17-30205

Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. 2:15-cr-00160-TSZ-1

v. MEMORANDUM* RAYMOND EARL DEVORE,

Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Thomas S. Zilly, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted March 8, 2019 Seattle, Washington

Before: GOULD and PAEZ, Circuit Judges, and JACK,** District Judge.

Raymond Earl Devore (“Devore”) was convicted of one count distribution

of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) and 18 U.S.C. §

2252(b)(1), one count receipt of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The Honorable Janis Graham Jack, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, sitting by designation. 2252(a)(2) and 18 U.S.C. § 2252(b)(1), two counts possession of child

pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B), one count production of

child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and 18 U.S.C. § 2251(e),

and one count enticement of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §2422(b). On

appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the indictment with regard to the one count

production of child pornography, and the district court’s determination that his

prior convictions under Washington law for possession and distribution of

depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct trigger the recidivist

sentencing enhancement of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(e). This court has jurisdiction

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a).

We hold that the indictment sufficiently stated the charge with regard to the

production of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and 18 U.S.C.

§ 2251(e) and affirm the district court’s application of the sentencing enhancement

pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2251(e).

1. In order for an indictment to be sufficient and put the defendant on

adequate notice it must contain the necessary elements of the crime alleged.

United States v. Jackson, 72 F.3d 1370, 1380 (9th Cir. 1995). When used in the

law, the word “attempt” connotes both action and intent. United States v.

Resendiz-Ponce, 549 U.S. 102, 107 (2007). The indictment included the phrase

2 “attempt to” in the relevant charge. Thus, the indictment adequately put Devore on

notice of the intent component of the charge.

2. The term “sexual exploitation of children” is not defined in 18 U.S.C. §

2251(e), so the district court had to “‘defin[e] the offense based on the ordinary,

contemporary, and common meaning of the statutory words.’” United States v.

Sullivan, 797 F.3d 623, 636 (9th Cir. 2015) (quoting United States v. Sinerius, 504

F.3d 737, 740 (9th Cir. 2007)); accord United States v. Reinhart, 893 F.3d 606

611–12 (9th Cir. 2018). The district court correctly concluded that Devore’s

Washington convictions under Wash. Rev. Code §§ 9.68A.050, 9.68A.070, and

9.68A.090 relate to the sexual exploitation of children within the meaning of §

2251(e) due to the “broadening effect” of “relating to” on the term that follows.

Sullivan, 797 F.3d at 638. The offenses under Wash. Rev. Code §§ 9.68A.050,

9.68A.070, and 9.68A.090 stand in some relation, bear upon, or are associated with

the generic offense of sexual exploitation of children. Id.

AFFIRMED.

3 FILED U.S. v. Devore, No. 17-30205 MAY 31 2019 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK PAEZ, Circuit Judge, concurring in part and dissenting in part: U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

I agree with the majority that the indictment sufficiently alleged the

production of child pornography charge. I disagree, however, with the application

of the recidivist sentencing enhancement pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2251(e) for two

or more prior convictions. The majority’s holding is inconsistent with United

States v. Reinhart, 893 F.3d 606 (9th Cir. 2018). I would remand for resentencing.

Section 2251(e) provides a mandatory sentence of “not less than 35 years”

for an individual who “has 2 or more prior convictions under this chapter . . . or

under the laws of any State relating to the sexual exploitation of children.”1 In

determining whether Devore’s state convictions qualify under the multiple-

conviction enhancement, I would apply the categorical approach as set forth in

Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (1990). United States v. Sullivan, 797 F.3d

623, 635 (9th Cir. 2015).

The categorical approach begins with identifying the federal generic

definition of “sexual exploitation of children.” Id. “[A]pplying well-established

statutory principles, where there is a federal definition of” sexual exploitation of

children “in the same statutory chapter as the sentencing enhancement . . . we

1 This section provides a lower mandatory minimum for persons with a single prior conviction “under this chapter . . . or under the laws of any State relating to” a different, longer list of activities. 18 U.S.C. § 2251(e). apply that definition.” Reinhart, 893 F.3d at 613. Section 2251 is titled “[s]exual

exploitation of children” and makes it a criminal offense where a person

“employs, uses, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any minor to engage in, or

who has a minor assist any other person to engage in, or who transports any minor

in or affecting interstate foreign commerce . . . with the intent that such minor

engage in, any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual

depiction of such conduct or for the purpose of transmitting a live visual depiction

of such conduct.” 18 U.S.C.

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Related

Taylor v. United States
495 U.S. 575 (Supreme Court, 1990)
United States v. Resendiz-Ponce
549 U.S. 102 (Supreme Court, 2007)
United States v. Clayton R. Jackson
72 F.3d 1370 (Ninth Circuit, 1995)
United States v. Basil Ketcham
80 F.3d 789 (Third Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Sinerius
504 F.3d 737 (Ninth Circuit, 2007)
Mellouli v. Lynch
575 U.S. 798 (Supreme Court, 2015)
United States v. Edward Sullivan
797 F.3d 623 (Ninth Circuit, 2015)
United States v. David Reinhart
893 F.3d 606 (Ninth Circuit, 2018)
United States v. Kemmish
120 F.3d 937 (Ninth Circuit, 1997)

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