SCOTUS Decision from June of 2015 Leads 11th Circuit to Vacate a Conviction Previously Affirmed

In 2010 Ellisa Martinez was indicted in Broward County for knowingly sending an email from a form to WFTL Radio – or transmitting in interstate commerce a communication – a threat to injure the person of another. The indictment claimed this was a violation of section 875(c) of title 18 of the US Code. She would later plead guilty to the charge after the District Court refused her motion for dismissal, but reserved the right to appeal her motion to dismiss. The 11^th Circuit considered this case in 2013, and affirmed the District’s ruling relying on a prior 11^th Circuit decision, United States v Alaboud. More details about the case when the 11^th originally affirmed are included in this document.

However, in June of 2015, the Supreme Court decided Elonis v United States. In Elonis, SCOTUS held that “a jury instruction providing ‘that the Government need prove only that a reasonable person would regard [the defendant’s] communication as threats’ [was] error.” In light of this decision, the 11^th Circuit then held that “[t]he indictment fails to allege Martinez’s mens rea or facts from which her intent can be inferred, with regard to the threatening nature of her e-mail.” Not only was Martinez’s conviction and sentence vacated, but the 11^th Circuit’s holdings in Alaboud were overruled as well.

The full four page opinion can be found here.