United States v. Spriggs
2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 493
| 11th Cir. | 2012Background
- Spriggs pled guilty to receipt of child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2).
- At sentencing, the district court applied a five-level enhancement for distribution for the receipt, or expectation of receipt, of a non-pecuniary thing of value under § 2G2.2(b)(3)(B).
- The district court relied on Spriggs's use of Shareaza 2.0, a peer-to-peer program, and evidence that files were in a shared folder accessible to others.
- The government offered testimony about potential benefits of sharing (higher download priority), but did not prove Shareaza 2.0 granted faster downloads in this context.
- Spriggs objected to the enhancement; the district court overruled, applying the five-level enhancement, and sentenced Spriggs.
- On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit vacated the sentence and remanded for resentencing, holding the record insufficient to prove a transaction for valuable consideration.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the record shows a transaction for a thing of value | Spriggs distributed to obtain value or advantage. | No proof of a transaction for valuable consideration. | Not supported; vacate and remand. |
| Whether merely using a file-sharing program establishes a transaction for valuable consideration | Program usage creates the transaction for value. | Program use does not alone create a transaction for value. | Disagreed with Eighth Circuit; record insufficient to prove transaction. |
| Whether evidence of faster downloading as a benefit constitutes a thing of value | Sharing yields faster downloads; constitutes value. | Record insufficient to prove faster downloads for this program. | Record insufficient; enhancement not supported. |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Walker, 490 F.3d 1282 (11th Cir. 2007) (standard of review for district court factual findings and application to sentencing in this context)
- United States v. Stults, 575 F.3d 834 (8th Cir. 2009) (interpretation of the five-level enhancement for receipt of a thing of value in file-sharing)
- United States v. Bender, 290 F.3d 1279 (11th Cir. 2002) (when child pornography can be a thing of value in a transaction)
- Lincoln v. Bd. of Regents of the Univ. Sys. of Ga., 697 F.2d 928 (11th Cir. 1983) (substantial evidence standard and deference to district court limitations)
- United States v. Wilks, 464 F.3d 1240 (11th Cir. 2006) (guidelines commentary binding where not contradicted by the plain text)