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Usav.Anthony Carl Spence

CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Docket No.17-14976
DecidedMay 2, 2019
Reporter868 F.3d 1293
JudgesUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Tags
CriminalCriminal LawCriminal ProcedureSentencingSentencing GuidelinesStatutory InterpretationSex CrimesTales From the Crypt
Case Summary

Anthony Carl Spence arrived in the United States with child-pornography videos on his phone. He told agents that he had received and distributed the videos while in Jamaica, and a jury convicted him of transporting and possessing child pornography. At sentencing, the district court applied a two-level Guidelines enhancement for distribution based in part on the foreign conduct. Spence argued that the enhancement improperly applied federal law extraterritorially and that the sentencing court could not consider conduct occurring outside the country. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed. It held that the Guidelines permitted the sentencing judge to consider the distribution as relevant conduct bearing on the seriousness of the domestic possession offense. The court declined to extend the presumption against extraterritorial application of congressional legislation to prevent consideration of otherwise relevant conduct at sentencing. It also rejected arguments foreclosed by circuit precedent concerning the statute, prior convictions, and constitutional sentencing principles. The published decision is notable as a first-impression treatment of foreign conduct in Guidelines sentencing and the distinction between regulating foreign conduct and evaluating a domestic offense.

Opinion

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Usa V. Anthony Carl Spence — The Atlanta Gleaner