United States v. Sean Price
711 F.3d 455
4th Cir.2013Background
- Price pled guilty to accessing the internet to view child pornography under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252A(a)(5)(B) and (b)(2).
- A PSR counted approximately 2,696 images based on 93 emails with 54 attachments; district court applied a five-level enhancement under § 2G2.2(b)(7)(D).
- Prior to sentencing, Price contested the image-count methodology, arguing duplicates should not be counted and that unique images (113) should be used instead.
- Law enforcement seized three hard drives with 15 images during a search; Price admitted possession and posting images on photobucket and a blog.
- At sentencing, the district court held that sending duplicates via email constituted duplication, counting each image each time it appeared, yielding the five-level enhancement; Price appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether duplicates count for § 2G2.2(b)(7) | Price argues duplicates should not be counted; only unique images (113). | Price’s duplicates are counted separately per Application Note 4. | Duplicates counted; five-level enhancement upheld. |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. McNerney, 636 F.3d 772 (6th Cir. 2011) (affirmed counting duplicate images for § 2G2.2(b)(7))
- United States v. Sampson, 606 F.3d 505 (8th Cir. 2010) (duplication increases availability of child pornography)
- United States v. Hudson, 272 F.3d 260 (4th Cir. 2001) (interpretation hinges on application note binding guidance)
- Banks v. United States, 130 F.3d 621 (4th Cir. 1997) (guidelines interpretation cited in relevant context)
- United States v. Lacey, 569 F.3d 319 (7th Cir. 2009) (assumed non-duplication in some rulings, not controlling here)
- United States v. Long, 425 F.3d 482 (7th Cir. 2005) (assumed non-duplication in related context)
- United States v. Goff, 501 F.3d 250 (3d Cir. 2009) (assumed non-duplication in related context)