U.S. v. Meiners
| Citation | 485 F.3d 1211 |
| Decision Date | 21 May 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-30389.,06-30389. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Evert MEINERS, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) |
v.
Evert MEINERS, Defendant-Appellant.
[485 F.3d 1212]
Mark S. Werner and Anthony R. Gallagher, Federal Defenders of Montana, Billings, MT, for appellant Evert Meiners.
William W. Mercer and Marcia Hurd, United States Attorney's Office, Billings, MT, for appellee United States of America.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Montana; Jack D. Shanstrom, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CR-05-00065-JDS.
Before ALEX KOZINSKI and RAYMOND C. FISHER, Circuit Judges and ANDREW J. GUILFORD, District Judge.**
PER CURIAM.
Defendant-Appellant Evert Meiners operated a child pornography file server ("f-serve"), which he utilized to advertise child pornography images for distribution in exchange for other child pornography images to be sent to him.1 During summer 2004, Meiners advertised and distributed child pornography to several Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents, a New York State detective and an officer with the German National Police.
United States Immigration and Customs agents identified Meiners as the operator of the f-serve and executed a warrant at his residence in Billings, Montana in November 2004. During the search, agents seized computer equipment containing 10,000-12,000 pornographic images, some of which depicted children engaged in sadomasochistic activity, including bondage and sexual intercourse.
Meiners agreed to plead guilty to four counts of advertisement of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(d), four counts of distribution of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2) and one count of possession of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B). The district court sentenced Meiners to 15 years in prison, comprised of 180 months on each advertisement count, 121 months on each distribution count and 120 months on the possession count, with all terms to be served concurrently. On appeal, Meiners challenges his sentence under the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Because a 15-year sentence is not grossly disproportionate to the gravity of Meiners' offense, we affirm.
We review de novo whether a sentence violates the Eighth Amendment. See United States v. Fernandez, 388 F.3d 1199, 1258 (9th Cir.2004). The Eighth
Amendment forbids as "cruel and unusual punishment" prison terms that are "grossly disproportionate." See Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 288, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983); United States v. Harris, 154 F.3d 1082, 1084 (9th Cir.1998). The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized that "federal courts should be reluctant to review legislatively mandated terms...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
U.S. v. C.R., 09–CR–155.
...of 120 months for second conviction for possession of child pornography did not violate the Eighth Amendment); United States v. Meiners, 485 F.3d 1211 (9th Cir.2007) (per curiam) (fifteen-year mandatory minimum sentence for advertising child pornography under § 2251(d) did not amount to cru......
-
Fonseca v. Hall
...at 2707 (Kennedy, J., concurring)), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 858, 113 S.Ct. 170, 121 L.Ed.2d 117 (1992); United States v. Meiners, 485 F.3d 1211, 1213 (9th Cir. 2007) (per curiam). This is not one of those cases. Rather, federal courts have upheld the imposition of life sentences in similar c......
-
Eickenhorst v. Gipson
...petitioner's sentence to the sentences of other defendants in other jurisdictions. Harmelin, 501 U.S. at 1005; United States v. Meiners, 485 F.3d 1211, 1213 (9th Cir. 2007) ("in the rare case in which a threshold comparison [of the crime committed and the sentence imposed] leads to an infer......
-
United States v. Su
...rare" cases in which the sentence is "grossly disproportionate to the gravity of [the] offense." United States v. Meiners, 485 F.3d 1211, 1213 (9th Cir. 2007) (per curiam).11 Finally, Su repeats her "jurisdictional" and "actual innocence" arguments advanced in support of her motion for reco......