U.S. v. Hall
| Decision Date | 23 April 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-1898,97-1898 |
| Citation | 142 F.3d 988 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jesse K. HALL, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Frances C. Hulin, Timothy A. Bass (argued), Office of the United States Attorney, Springfield, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Carol J. Reid (argued), Springfield, IL, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before CUMMINGS, COFFEY and EVANS, Circuit Judges.
On October 10, 1996, the defendant-appellant, Jesse Kevin Hall ("Hall"), was charged with knowingly possessing three or more visual images containing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). Hall's single-count indictment charged the defendant with transporting the images in interstate commerce by computer. The defendant entered a conditional plea of guilty, reserving the right to appeal the district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence against him. Hall appeals the court's denial of his motion to suppress. We affirm.
On November 7, 1995, the defendant took the central processing unit ("CPU") of his personal computer to CDS Office Technologies ("CDS") in Springfield, Illinois, for repairs. The following day, while in the process of repairing Hall's CPU, Richard M. Goodwin ("Goodwin"), a CDS employee, accessed several of the CPU's file directories to diagnose the problems with Hall's CPU. In so doing, Goodwin observed that a number of the files had unusual names; names which implied sexual content. For example, one of the files was titled "Boys 612." 1 Goodwin viewed this file and found that it contained a video image of two young naked boys engaged in actual or simulated anal sex. Based on their appearance and physical development, Goodwin estimated that the boys were between 10 and 12 years of age. Goodwin examined three or five other files and found that they also contained pornographic images of males in their youth. Goodwin gauged that there were a total of 1,000 video files on the CPU that had names implying child pornography. After Goodwin viewed the files, Hall telephoned CDS to inquire when his computer would be ready and how much the repairs would cost. Goodwin explained that it was likely that the CPU would require a video upgrade and that a CDS salesperson would contact him concerning the price. Goodwin did not reveal that he had viewed any of the pornographic files.
Following his conversation with Hall, Goodwin placed a call to his friend, Trooper Wayne Johnson ("Johnson") of the Illinois State Police, and told him what he had discovered on the computer. He described two or three of the images to Johnson, including the "Boys 6-12." Johnson asked Goodwin to copy several of the pornographic files onto a three-and-a-half-inch computer disk ("disk") in order to preserve the evidence. Goodwin copied the disk as requested and gave it to Johnson later the same day. However, neither Johnson nor any other law enforcement officer ever viewed the disk.
Johnson contacted Lieutenant Terry Wubker of the Illinois State Police, who in turn notified the FBI. On November 9, 1995, Goodwin was interviewed briefly by FBI Special Agents Dale Walker ("Walker") and Thomas Gibbons ("Gibbons") at the offices of the Illinois State Police. Johnson and two other Illinois State Police officers were present during the interview. Later the same day, Goodwin was interviewed a second time by Walker and Gibbons, and at this time was accompanied by Warren Wilson ("Wilson") and Bruce Egolf ("Egolf"), CDS employees. During the meeting, the CDS employees agreed to assist the FBI in their investigation of Hall. Accordingly, Goodwin gave the agents Hall's home address, the location of his employment, and his home telephone number.
Following the meeting, Wilson called Hall to discuss the video upgrade of Hall's CPU. Hall requested that a new video graphics card be installed. Because the card would have to be ordered, Wilson estimated that the repair of the CPU would not be completed until the following week. Egolf then locked Hall's CPU in his office at CDS pending the outcome of the investigation. The FBI subpoenaed records from America On-Line ("AOL") reflecting that Hall subscribed to the service from February 22, 1995, through November 7, 1995. AOL also released Hall's mailing address, which matched the address Goodwin had given to Walker and Gibbons.
The video upgrade of Hall's CPU was completed on November 15, 1995. The same day, Walker obtained search warrants: one to search Hall's residence and another to search Hall's CPU. The affidavits supporting the search warrants recounted the facts that Goodwin had related to law enforcement, and stated that Johnson had instructed Goodwin to copy and transfer the pornographic files to the disk to preserve the evidence. The affidavits did not rely on the copied files in establishing probable cause. At the request of the FBI, Wilson also agreed to retain the CPU until the following day in order that an expert from FBI headquarters could view the pornographic files.
At 8 a.m. on November 16, 1995, the first warrant, allowing law enforcement officers to search Hall's CPU, was served at CDS. FBI Special Agent Michael Randolph ("Randolph") confirmed that the CPU in question contained child pornography. At approximately 9 a.m., Hall arrived at CDS and picked up his CPU. He left the store and was confronted by FBI agents as he approached his car. The agents seized the CPU, and advised Hall that he was not under arrest, and that he was free to leave if he so desired. Hall was advised that the FBI's investigation into the illegal transmission and receipt of child pornography had revealed that Hall was in possession of various pornographic items. Hall admitted that he had obtained child pornography through his AOL account, and signed a written consent form which allowed the agents to search his residence and his computer. At Hall's residence, the agents seized 42 disks, three of which contained child pornography. After an inventory review and inspection of the CPU and disks, 403 files were found to contain visual depictions of minors engaged in explicit sexual conduct. Many of the pornographic files contained in the CPU depicted prepubescent minors, or minors under the age of 12.
On October 10, 1996, Hall was indicted for knowingly possessing images, transported in interstate commerce, which contained visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). The statute provides:
(a) Any person who-
(4) either (B) knowingly possesses 3 or more books, magazines, periodicals, films, video tapes, or other matter which contain any visual depiction that has been mailed, or has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, or which was produced using materials which have been mailed or so shipped or transported, by any means including by computer, if-
(i) the producing of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and
(ii) such visual depiction is of such conduct;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
18 U.S.C. § 2252. On December 3, 1996, Hall filed a motion with the district court to suppress the Government's evidence of child pornography. Hall contended that the Government's search warrants were invalid since they were supported by an insufficient amount of evidence to establish probable cause and were based on discoveries made by an agent of the Government. At the suppression hearing on December 23, 1996, Hall's motion was denied. The district court found that: (1) Goodwin's actions leading to the discovery of the material on Hall's CPU constituted a private search; (2) there were separate warrants to search the CPU and Hall's residence; (3) there was probable cause to issue the warrants; and (4) the CPU was not unreasonably detained. Hall entered a conditional plea of guilty, reserving the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress evidence. At sentencing, Hall objected to various presentence report ("PSR") findings. These included the imposition of two separate two-level enhancements under U.S.S.G. §§ 2G2.4(b)(1) and (b)(2) for possession of material involving a prepubescent minor and possession of ten or more items containing a depiction involving the sexual exploitation of a minor. The district court, after overruling Hall's objections, found him guilty of possessing child pornography and sentenced him to 15 months imprisonment, three years supervised release, and a $50 special assessment fee. Hall appeals the district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence and his sentence enhancements.
On appeal, Hall contends that the district court erroneously denied his motion to suppress evidence. Specifically, Hall claims that: (1) the evidence was discovered in violation of the Fourth Amendment by an agent of the Government; (2) his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when the content of his computer files were released to the police without his consent; (3) insufficient probable cause existed for the search warrants; (4) the warrants violated his First Amendment rights because they gave law enforcement the authority to search and seize non-obscene material; and (5) the unlawful warrants invalidated his subsequent consent to the search of his residence and his computer. Hall also contends that the district judge erred in increasing his base sentence level by two levels, arguing that visual depictions on a computer do not constitute pornographic "matter" as defined under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B) and are not considered as "items" or "material" for purposes of the sentencing guidelines.
Initially, the defendant contends that the district judge erred in denying his motion to suppress...
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