Triggering Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Child Pornography

On May 26, 2015, the Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of Lockhart v. United States, after the 2^nd Circuit affirmed a ten year minimum sentence due to a prior conviction enhancement. Although the case is not yet scheduled, it is currently expected to be argued in October of this year.

The petitioner pled guilty to possessing child pornography after a 2010 investigation by New York authorities. He had a prior conviction by the state of New York for sexual abuse that involved a 53 year old victim. Without the mandatory minimum from § 2252(b)(2), his sentence for the charge he is currently appealing would have ranged from no minimum prison time to a maximum of ten years. With the enhancement, the minimum is ten and the maximum is twenty years. Whether or not the enhancement applies depends on how the court interprets the law. The district court concluded that it did in fact apply. Section 2252(b)(2) of title 18, U.S.C., requires a district court to impose a prison term of at least ten years on a defendant convicted of possessing child pornography if he “has a prior conviction … under the laws of any State relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor or ward.”

The petitioner notes that while the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Ninth Circuits have all held that the clause “involving a minor or ward” applies only to abusive sexual conduct convictions, the Eighth has ruled that it applies to aggravated sexual abuse and sexual abuse, as well. From Lockhart’s original petition: “This conflict, on an important question of statutory interpretation with significant consequences for criminal defendants and the uniform administration of federal criminal law, warrants this Court’s review.” He claims that the majority position disregards the plain text in the statute and holds that Congress’s intent was to limit the enhancement to crimes involving children. You can find that document and the government’s response here.