Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / Mega Edition: The DOJ Lights Ghislaine Maxwell Up In Their Response To Her Appeal Request (Part 4-6) (9/6/26)
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome back to the Epstein Chronicles.
- 0:04Speaker 1: In this episode, we're going to pick up where we
- 0:05Speaker 1: left off with the United States brief in response to
- 0:09Speaker 1: Ghislaine Maxwell and her attempt at an appeal. Number three,
- 0:14Speaker 1: the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining
- 0:17Speaker 1: to conduct a hearing. Finally, Maxwell argues that the district
- 0:21Speaker 1: court erred by denying her motions to dismiss without an
- 0:25Speaker 1: evidentiary hearing. But as Judge Nathan explained, the cases cited
- 0:29Speaker 1: by Maxwell in support of her request for a hearing
- 0:32Speaker 1: mostly involved oral arguments where there was no written record
- 0:36Speaker 1: of the full set of terms reached by the parties,
- 0:39Speaker 1: and all of which involved defendants with first-hand knowledge of
- 0:42Speaker 1: the negotiations. This is no such case. The NPA's terms
- 0:47Speaker 1: are clear. Furthermore, Maxwell had an unusually large amount of
- 0:51Speaker 1: information about the NPA's negotiation history in the form of
- 0:55Speaker 1: the OPR report, yet identifies no evidence that the Department
- 0:59Speaker 1: of Justice made any promises not contained in the NPA. Here,
- 1:03Speaker 1: as below, Maxwell's further request for a hearing rests on
- 1:07Speaker 1: mere conjecture. Judge Nathan did not abuse her discretion. Point
- 1:12Speaker 1: number two. The district court correctly concluded that the charges
- 1:16Speaker 1: were timely. In 2003, Congress extended the Statue of Limitations
- 1:21Speaker 1: to for offenses involving the sexual or physical abuse of
- 1:24Speaker 1: a minor to allow prosecution so long as the victim
- 1:27Speaker 1: remains alive. U.S. Code 18, Section 3283. Attempting to undermine
- 1:33Speaker 1: the clear legislative intent, Maxwell argues that the amendment did
- 1:37Speaker 1: not apply to her case because her crimes both predated
- 1:40Speaker 1: the amendment and did not involve sexual abuse. These arguments
- 1:44Speaker 1: fly in the face of the statutory text, legislative history,
- 1:48Speaker 1: this court's own decisions, and the persuasive authority of other circuits.
- 1:53Speaker 1: The charges fell squarely within the amended statute of limitations,
- 1:57Speaker 1: and this court should affirm Judge Nathan's well-reasoned decisions, denying
- 2:01Speaker 1: Maxwell's motions to dismiss the charges as untimely. A. Applicable
- 2:07Speaker 1: Law 1. Standard of Review This court reviews, de novo,
- 2:12Speaker 1: both the denial of a motion to dismiss an indictment
- 2:16Speaker 1: and the application of a statute of limitations. United States v. Sampson,
- 2:20Speaker 1: 898 F. 3D, 270-276, 278 Second Circuit, 2018. 2. Statutes of
- 2:22Speaker 1: Limitations for Offenses Against Children, U.S. Code 18, Section 3283,
- 2:25Speaker 1: and Child Abduction and Sex Offenses, U.S. Code 18, Section 3299.
- 2:41Speaker 1: Most federal non-capital offenses carry a five-year statute of limitations.
- 2:45Speaker 1: See U.S. Code 18, Section 3282A. In 1990, Congress enacted
- 2:51Speaker 1: a provision titled Extension of Child Statute of Limitations, which
- 2:56Speaker 1: provided that no statute of limitation that would otherwise preclude
- 3:01Speaker 1: prosecution for an offense involving the sexual or physical abuse
- 3:04Speaker 1: of a child under the age of 18 shall preclude
- 3:08Speaker 1: such a prosecution before the child reaches the age of 25.
- 3:10Speaker 1: The Crime Control Act of 1990, Pub.L No. 101-647, Title II,
- 3:14Speaker 1: Section 225A, 104, STAT 4789, 4798, codified at U.S. Code 18,
- 3:16Speaker 1: Section 3509K, 1990. This provision extended the federal criminal limitation
- 3:21Speaker 1: period for child sex abuse offenses making it easier to
- 3:38Speaker 1: prosecute offenders who commit sex crimes that may be difficult
- 3:41Speaker 1: to detect quickly. Weingarten v. United States, 865 F. 3D 4854,
- 3:44Speaker 1: 2nd Circuit, 2017. In 1994, Congress recodified this provision, moving
- 3:46Speaker 1: it to U.S. Code 18, Section 3283, with identical language.
- 3:48Speaker 1: Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Pub.L,
- 4:07Speaker 1: Number 103-322, Title 33, Section 33-0018A, Statute 108-1796-2149, codified at U.S.
- 4:10Speaker 1: Code 18, Section 3283-1994. Within a decade, Congress began to
- 4:13Speaker 1: view even the extended statute of limitations period as in
- 4:30Speaker 1: 1994 version of the 3283 as inadequate in many cases
- 4:36Speaker 1: because it released from criminal liability sex abusers whose crimes
- 4:40Speaker 1: were not brought to the attention of federal authorities until
- 4:43Speaker 1: after their victims turned 25. Weingarten, age 65, F. 3D at 54. Accordingly,
- 4:51Speaker 1: in 2003, Congress enacted a provision titled No Statute of
- 4:54Speaker 1: Limitations for Child Abduction and Sex Crimes. which amended Section
- 4:59Speaker 1: 3283 to read, No statute of limitations that would otherwise
- 5:04Speaker 1: preclude prosecution for an offense involving the sexual or physical
- 5:08Speaker 1: abuse or kidnapping of a child under the age of
- 5:11Speaker 1: 18 shall preclude such prosecution during the life of the child.
- 5:16Speaker 1: Prosecutorial Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Today
- 5:20Speaker 1: Act of 2003, the PROTECT Act, Pub L, No. 10821,
- 5:22Speaker 1: Title II, Section 202, 117, Statute 650-660, codified at U.S.
- 5:33Speaker 1: Code 18, Section 3283-2003. In 2006, Congress enacted a provision
- 5:41Speaker 1: titled Longer Statute of Limitations for Human Trafficking-Related Offenses and
- 5:45Speaker 1: subtitled Modification of Statute Applicable to Offense Against Children, which
- 5:51Speaker 1: further amended Section 3283 to its current form to permit
- 5:55Speaker 1: the prosecution of such offenses in during the lifetime of
- 5:58Speaker 1: the victim, or 10 years after the offense, whichever is longer.
- 6:02Speaker 1: Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2006, Pub.L No. 109-162,
- 6:07Speaker 1: Title XI, Section 1182C, 119, Statute 2960-3126, Codified at U.S.
- 6:09Speaker 1: Code 18, Section 3283, 2006. Later in 2006, Congress enacted U.S.
- 6:28Speaker 1: Code 18 Section 3299 in a provision titled No Limitation
- 6:33Speaker 1: for Prosecution of Felony Sex Offenses, which provides that notwithstanding
- 6:38Speaker 1: any other law, an indictment may be found or any
- 6:41Speaker 1: information instituted at any time without limitation for any offense
- 6:46Speaker 1: under Section 1201 involving a minor victim and for any
- 6:50Speaker 1: felony under Chapter 109A and 10 except for Section 2257
- 6:55Speaker 1: and 2257A, or 117, or Section 1591. The Adam Walsh
- 6:57Speaker 1: Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, Pub.L No. 109-248,
- 6:59Speaker 1: Title II, Section 211-1-120, Statute 587-616, Codified at U.S. Code 18,
- 7:02Speaker 1: Section 3299-2006. 3. retroactivity under Landgraf. In Landgraf v. USI
- 7:27Speaker 1: Film Products 511, U.S. 244, 1994, the Supreme Court set
- 7:33Speaker 1: forth a two-part framework for determining whether a statute may
- 7:37Speaker 1: be applied retroactively. At the first step, if Congress expressly
- 7:41Speaker 1: prescribed that a statute applies retroactively to the antecedent conduct,
- 7:46Speaker 1: the inquiry ends and the court enforces the statute as
- 7:49Speaker 1: it is written, save for constitutional concerns. Weingarten, H65, F. 3d
- 7:55Speaker 1: at 54 and 55. If, however, the statute is ambiguous
- 8:00Speaker 1: or contains no express command regarding retroactivity, then the court
- 8:04Speaker 1: must turn to the second step where a reviewing court
- 8:07Speaker 1: must determine whether applying the statute to the antecedent conduct
- 8:11Speaker 1: would create presumptively impermissible retroactive effects. Idea 55. If it would,
- 8:18Speaker 1: then the court shall not apply the statute retroactively absent
- 8:22Speaker 1: clear congressional intent to the contrary. If it would not,
- 8:25Speaker 1: then the court shall apply the statute to antecedent conduct. B.
- 8:29Speaker 1: The Discussion 1. There was no impermissible retroactivity in applying
- 8:34Speaker 1: Section 3283 to Maxwell. Maxwell's claims at the district court
- 8:39Speaker 1: erred by applying Section 3283's 2003 amendment to her six
- 8:41Speaker 1: counts of conviction, i.e. counts 3, 4, and 6 because
- 8:49Speaker 1: they involve conduct that predated the amendment. As an initial matter,
- 8:53Speaker 1: this argument ignores the fact that counts 3 and 6
- 8:56Speaker 1: both charge continuing offenses that continued into 2004, thus postdating
- 9:02Speaker 1: Section 3283's amendment. Moreover, under the Landgraf framework, in the
- 9:08Speaker 1: 2003 amendment properly applies to pre-enactment criminal conduct that still
- 9:13Speaker 1: could have been timely prosecuted at the time of the enactment,
- 9:17Speaker 1: as was the case here. A. There was no retroactivity
- 9:21Speaker 1: as to counts 3 and 6. As an initial matter,
- 9:25Speaker 1: counts 3 and 6 both charge conduct that continued through 2004, i.e.
- 9:30Speaker 1: after the 2003 amendment to Section 3283, and thus present
- 9:36Speaker 1: no retroactivity concerns. For conspiracy charges requiring proof of an
- 9:41Speaker 1: overt act, including U.S. Code 18, Section 371, The conspiracy
- 9:46Speaker 1: statute at issue here, the statute of limitations, runs from
- 9:50Speaker 1: the date of the last overt act in furtherance of
- 9:53Speaker 1: the conspiracy, United States v. Monaco, 194, F. 3D, 381, 387, N. 89-97,
- 10:00Speaker 1: Second Circuit 2001. Similarly, for a continuing substantive offense, the
- 10:04Speaker 1: statute of limitations only begins to run out when the
- 10:06Speaker 1: crime is complete. meaning when the conduct has run its course,
- 10:22Speaker 1: United States v. Apolito, 543, F. 3d, 2546, 2nd Circuit, 2008.
- 10:31Speaker 1: Here the indictment alleged the conspiracy charged in counts 3
- 10:35Speaker 1: and the sex trafficking offense charged in counts 6 continued
- 10:39Speaker 1: through 2004, a. 127-132, see also a. 123-124, 131-132, describing
- 10:48Speaker 1: conduct through 2004 involving Victim 4. Thus, the statute of
- 10:53Speaker 1: limitations for these two counts did not begin to run
- 10:57Speaker 1: until 2004, well after Congress enacted the 2003 amendment to
- 11:02Speaker 1: Section 3283. Maxwell's arguments about retroactivity are therefore inapplicable to
- 11:09Speaker 1: Counts 3 and 6. Alright folks, we're going to wrap
- 11:11Speaker 1: up this episode here, and in the next episode, discussing
- 11:14Speaker 1: the topic we're going to pick up, where we left off.
- 11:17Speaker 1: And that's with applying Section 3283 to Maxwell complies with Landgraf.
- 11:24Speaker 1: All of the information that goes with this episode can
- 11:27Speaker 1: be found in the description box. What's up everyone and
- 11:30Speaker 1: welcome back to the Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're
- 11:34Speaker 1: getting right back to the United States government's brief in
- 11:37Speaker 1: response to Ghislaine Maxwell's attempt to appeal her sentence. B.
- 11:42Speaker 1: Applying Section 3283 to Maxwell complies with Landgraf. Furthermore, under
- 11:48Speaker 1: the Landgraf framework, the 2003 amendment to Section 3283 properly
- 11:53Speaker 1: applies to pre-enactment conduct for which the statute of limitations
- 11:58Speaker 1: had not expired at the time the amendment was passed.
- 12:01Speaker 1: Because the statute of limitations had not expired when Congress
- 12:04Speaker 1: amended Section 3283 in 2003, that amendment extended the limitations
- 12:10Speaker 1: period for prosecuting Maxwell, rendering the charges timely. I. Landgraf
- 12:16Speaker 1: Step 1 At step one of the Landgraf analysis, the
- 12:19Speaker 1: question is whether Congress has expressly prescribed the statute's proper reach.
- 12:25Speaker 1: Landgraf 511 U.S. 280. When evaluating Congress's intent at step one,
- 12:31Speaker 1: this court has considered both statutory text and legislative history.
- 12:36Speaker 1: In R.E. Enter, Mort Acceptance Company, Secretary Litigation, Enterprise, 391 F. 3D 401,
- 12:42Speaker 1: 406 and 408, Second Circuit, 2004. Here the text in
- 12:49Speaker 1: history of Section 3283 established that Congress intended to extend
- 12:54Speaker 1: the time to bring charges of child sexual abuse in
- 12:57Speaker 1: cases where the limitation periods had not yet expired. Prior
- 13:02Speaker 1: to 2003, any child sex abuse offense could be prosecuted
- 13:06Speaker 1: until the victim reached the age of 25 years, at
- 13:09Speaker 1: which point the statute of limitations then in effect would
- 13:12Speaker 1: bar prosecution. In 2003's amendment, which was titled No Statute
- 13:17Speaker 1: of Limitations for Child Abductions and Sex Crimes, Pub L No. 108-21,
- 13:24Speaker 1: Section 202-117, Statute 660, Congress explicitly provided that no statute
- 13:31Speaker 1: of limitations that would otherwise preclude prosecution for such an
- 13:35Speaker 1: offense shall preclude such prosecution during the life of a child, U.S.
- 13:39Speaker 1: Code 18, Section 3283-2003. The amendment draws no distinction between
- 13:46Speaker 1: pre-enactment and post-enactment conduct. Instead, as Judge Nathan explained by
- 13:51Speaker 1: stating that no statute of limitations that would otherwise preclude
- 13:55Speaker 1: prosecution of these offenses will apply. The amendment's plain language, unambiguously,
- 14:00Speaker 1: requires that it apply to prosecutions for offenses committed before
- 14:04Speaker 1: the date of enactment. Thus, the breadth of the text
- 14:08Speaker 1: shows that Congress intended to extend the statute of limitations
- 14:12Speaker 1: even for pre-enactment conduct United States v. Jeffries, 405 F. 3D 682-684,
- 14:18Speaker 1: 8th Circuit, 2005, reaching same conclusions as Section 3283's predecessor
- 14:26Speaker 1: based on similar title and wording of statute, CF Enterprise
- 14:32Speaker 1: 391 F. 3D at 407, describing provision that no limitation shall
- 14:36Speaker 1: terminate the period within which suit may be filed or
- 14:39Speaker 1: as example of statute reflecting clear congressional intent to apply
- 14:44Speaker 1: to pre-enactment conduct. Legislative history confirms this conclusion. In initially
- 14:51Speaker 1: enacting a special statute of limitations for child sex abuse offenses,
- 14:55Speaker 1: Congress sought to make it easier to prosecute offenders who
- 14:58Speaker 1: commit sex crimes that may be difficult to detect quickly.
- 15:02Speaker 1: Weingarten 865 F. 3D at 54. But that limitation period proved
- 15:08Speaker 1: to be inadequate in many cases. HR conference number 108
- 15:13Speaker 1: through 66 at 54. Tellingly, the conference report offered the
- 15:18Speaker 1: example of a child rapist who could not be prosecuted
- 15:21Speaker 1: because he was identified as the perpetrator one day after
- 15:25Speaker 1: the victim turned 25. Given that Congress bemoaned those offenders
- 15:29Speaker 1: who escaped prosecution, because the limitation period had expired, there
- 15:33Speaker 1: is every reason to believe that it intended to preserve
- 15:37Speaker 1: the ability to prosecute pre-enactment offenders whose limitation periods had
- 15:41Speaker 1: not yet expired. See the United States v. Sure Chief,
- 15:45Speaker 1: 438 F. 3d, 920-924, 9th Circuit, 2006. Concluding that in enacting
- 15:46Speaker 1: the 2003 amendment, Congress evinced a clear intent to extend
- 15:48Speaker 1: the limitations period. Maxwell notes that Congress considered and rejected
- 16:02Speaker 1: a retroactivity clause before enacting the 2003 amendment. But as
- 16:07Speaker 1: Judge Nathan recognized, the legislative history makes clear that Congress
- 16:12Speaker 1: abandoned the retroactivity provision because it would have produced unconstitutional results. A-152,
- 16:19Speaker 1: discussing co-sponsor remarks expressing concern that the proposed retroactivity provision
- 16:25Speaker 1: was a doubtful constitutionality, because it would have revived the
- 16:29Speaker 1: government's authority to prosecute crimes that were previously time-barred. Thus,
- 16:33Speaker 1: the rejection of the Retroactivity Clause shows only that Congress
- 16:37Speaker 1: intended to limit the PROTECT Act to its constitutional applications,
- 16:41Speaker 1: including past conduct, like Maxwell's, on which the statute of
- 16:45Speaker 1: limitations had not yet expired. The reach of the 2003
- 16:49Speaker 1: amendment to Section 3283 is clear. Because Congress has expressly
- 16:54Speaker 1: extended the statute of limitations to pre-enactment conduct, Judge Nathan
- 16:59Speaker 1: correctly resolved this analysis at Landgraf Step 1. In the alternative, however,
- 17:04Speaker 1: the statute is, at worst, ambiguous. If the Court takes
- 17:08Speaker 1: that view, it should proceed to Landgraf Step 2, which
- 17:11Speaker 1: examines the retroactive effects of the statute. 2. Landgraf Step
- 17:16Speaker 1: 2 As the Supreme Court explained in Landgraf, Even absent
- 17:20Speaker 1: specific legislative authorization, applying a statute to pre-enactment conduct is
- 17:25Speaker 1: unquestionably proper in many situations. 511 U.S. at 273. A
- 17:31Speaker 1: statute does not operate retrospectively merely because it is applied
- 17:35Speaker 1: in a case arising from conduct antedating the statute's enactment
- 17:40Speaker 1: or upsets expectations based on prior law. ID at 269. Instead,
- 17:45Speaker 1: the question is whether the statute would impair rights a
- 17:48Speaker 1: party possessed when he acted, increase the party's liability for
- 17:52Speaker 1: past conduct, or impose new duties with respect to transactions
- 17:56Speaker 1: already completed. Idea 280. Importantly, the fact that a new
- 18:01Speaker 1: procedural rule was instituted after the conduct giving rise to
- 18:05Speaker 1: the suit does not make the application of the rule
- 18:08Speaker 1: at trial retroactive. Because parties have diminished reliance interests in
- 18:13Speaker 1: matters of procedure and because rules of procedure regulate secondary
- 18:18Speaker 1: rather than primary conduct. Idea 275. In Vernon v. Casadega
- 18:24Speaker 1: Valley Central School District 49 F. 3D 886 2nd Circuit 1995.
- 18:31Speaker 1: This court considered a new statute of limitations that shortened
- 18:35Speaker 1: the time to file certain discrimination claims and held that
- 18:38Speaker 1: applying the new statute in a case filed after its
- 18:42Speaker 1: enactment but arising out of events that predate its enactment
- 18:46Speaker 1: is not impermissibly retroactive under Landgraf. Id. 889 and 90.
- 18:52Speaker 1: As the court explained, the conduct to which the statute
- 18:54Speaker 1: of limitations applies is not the primary conduct of the defendants,
- 18:58Speaker 1: the alleged discrimination, but is instead the secondary conduct of
- 19:03Speaker 1: the plaintiffs, the filing of their suit. ID at 890.
- 19:08Speaker 1: The 2003 amendment to section 3283 likewise applies only to
- 19:13Speaker 1: the secondary conduct of filing a criminal case. It does
- 19:16Speaker 1: not apply to the primary conduct of Maxwell's child sexual
- 19:20Speaker 1: abuse by, for example, modifying the elements of an offense
- 19:24Speaker 1: to criminalize conduct that previously had not constituted a crime.
- 19:28Speaker 1: CID at 891. Landgraf, in other cases, continents treating statutes
- 19:33Speaker 1: of limitations differently from statutory provisions that affect substantive rights. Thus,
- 19:39Speaker 1: like the new statute in Vernon, the 2003 amendment impaired
- 19:43Speaker 1: no rights possessed by either party, increased neither party's liability,
- 19:47Speaker 1: nor imposed any new duties with respect. to past transactions.
- 19:52Speaker 1: ID at 890. Enterprise does not alter this conclusion. Therefore,
- 19:57Speaker 1: this court considered whether an amended statute of limitations operated
- 20:01Speaker 1: to revive already expired securities fraud claims. Enterprise 391 F. 3D
- 20:05Speaker 1: at 405. While acknowledging that under Vernon, retroactive application of
- 20:12Speaker 1: a revised statute of limitations generally does not have an
- 20:16Speaker 1: impermissible retroactive effect, the court concluded that the resurrection of
- 20:20Speaker 1: previously time-barred claims has an impermissible retroactive effect, ID at
- 20:25Speaker 1: 409 and 410, emphasis removed. Enterprise has no application here,
- 20:30Speaker 1: as the limitations period for the charges against Maxwell did
- 20:34Speaker 1: not expire before the statute of limitations was extended. Thus,
- 20:38Speaker 1: unlike Enterprise, where resurrection of expired claims would have stripped
- 20:42Speaker 1: defendants of a complete, affirmative defense they previously possessed. Idea 410. Here,
- 20:49Speaker 1: Maxwell never possessed that complete defense. Judge Nathan correctly concluded
- 20:54Speaker 1: that the 2003 amendment accordingly did not deprive Maxwell of
- 20:59Speaker 1: any vested rights. To be sure, this court has observed
- 21:02Speaker 1: that there may be colorable arguments that the logic of
- 21:06Speaker 1: enterprise extends to criminal cases where the defendant's statute of
- 21:10Speaker 1: limitations defense had not vested when the limitations period was
- 21:14Speaker 1: extended because the extension increases the period of time during
- 21:18Speaker 1: which a defendant can be sued, thereby increasing a defendant's
- 21:22Speaker 1: liability for past conduct. Weingarten 865 F. 3d at 57 says,
- 21:28Speaker 1: See also United States v. Miller, 9-11, F. 3D, 638, 644-646,
- 21:35Speaker 1: 1st Circuit, 2018. Discussing potential defense arguments. But such a
- 21:41Speaker 1: claim runs headlong into the vast weight of retroactivity decisions,
- 21:46Speaker 1: which recognize that revoking a vested statute of limitations defense
- 21:51Speaker 1: is different from retroactively extending the filing period for a
- 21:55Speaker 1: still viable claim. Weingarten, 865, F. 3d at 57. For example,
- 22:02Speaker 1: in the criminal context, there is a consensus that extending
- 22:05Speaker 1: a limitations period before prosecution is time-barred does not run
- 22:10Speaker 1: afoul of the ex post facto clause of the Constitution,
- 22:14Speaker 1: Cruz v. Maipa, As this court explained long ago, while
- 22:17Speaker 1: it is unfair and dishonest for the government to assure
- 22:20Speaker 1: a man that he has become safe from the pursuit
- 22:21Speaker 1: but then withdraw its assurances, it is permissible to extend
- 22:46Speaker 1: a statute of limitations while the chase is on. Falter v.
- 22:50Speaker 1: United States, 23F. 2D, 420, 426, 2nd Circuit, 1928, Elhan J.
- 22:58Speaker 1: These ex post facto cases are particularly instructive here because
- 23:03Speaker 1: Landgraf and the ex post facto clause are informed by
- 23:06Speaker 1: the same retroactivity concerns. Cruz, 773, F. 3D at 145. See
- 23:13Speaker 1: also Landgraf 511 U.S. at 266, citing the ex post
- 23:17Speaker 1: facto clause as an expression as the entire retroactivity principle
- 23:22Speaker 1: it was applying. Thus, applying Section 3283's 2003 Amendment to
- 23:27Speaker 1: Maxwell's unexpired charges is permissible under Landgraf. As the Tenth
- 23:33Speaker 1: Circuit recently explained with respect to the very same Statute
- 23:36Speaker 1: of Limitations at issue here, by extending the unexpired Statute
- 23:40Speaker 1: of Limitations, Congress did not increase defendant's exposure to prosecution retroactively.
- 23:46Speaker 1: It did not raise the penalty for the charged offense.
- 23:49Speaker 1: It did not redefine the offense to make it easier
- 23:51Speaker 1: to establish. It did not expose defendant to criminal prosecution anew.
- 23:55Speaker 1: It merely altered the ongoing charging period for the conduct
- 23:59Speaker 1: that had already exposed him to criminal prosecution. Defendant was
- 24:03Speaker 1: subject to indictment in 2002 before the statutes of limitations
- 24:08Speaker 1: were extended, and he remained the subject to indictment In 2007,
- 24:13Speaker 1: once the changes were made, a dead charge was not
- 24:15Speaker 1: resurrected and the underlying nature of defendants' potential criminal liability
- 24:20Speaker 1: remained the same. United States v. Pyatt, 45F, 4th Circuit, 1142, 1161,
- 24:24Speaker 1: and 62, 10th Circuit, 2022. The decisions of other courts
- 24:26Speaker 1: of appeals are in accord. Sure Chief, 438, F. 3D, at 922-25, Jeffries, 405, F. 3D
- 24:42Speaker 1: at 685. Maxwell cites United States v. Richardson, 512, F. 2D, 105,
- 24:49Speaker 1: 3rd Circuit, 1975, and two district court decisions that are
- 24:53Speaker 1: bound to follow it, BR, 58 and 59. But Richardson,
- 24:58Speaker 1: which was decided before Landgraf, is inconsistent with Landgraf. United
- 25:03Speaker 1: States v. Nader, 425, F.SUPP 3D 619-630, Eastern District, Virginia, 2019. Specifically,
- 25:13Speaker 1: Richardson focused on whether Congress expressed a clear intention to
- 25:17Speaker 1: overcome the presumption against retroactivity. 512 F. 2D at 106, without
- 25:24Speaker 1: engaging in Landgraf's second step, i.e., considering whether the statute
- 25:28Speaker 1: would have retroactive effect. Landgraf 511 U.S. at 280. Moreover,
- 25:33Speaker 1: unlike the 2003 Amendment, the statute at issue in Richardson
- 25:38Speaker 1: did not expressly provide that no statute of limitations that
- 25:41Speaker 1: would otherwise preclude prosecution of the relevant offense shall preclude
- 25:46Speaker 1: prosecution under terms of the amended statute. In sum, the
- 25:50Speaker 1: statute of limitations for the charges in the indictment had
- 25:54Speaker 1: not yet expired when the 2003 Amendment to Section 3283
- 25:58Speaker 1: extended the limitations period, and Judge Nathan correctly determined that
- 26:03Speaker 1: applying the 2003 amendment in this case does not create
- 26:07Speaker 1: impermissible retroactive effects. Therefore, Step 2 of Landgraf is satisfied,
- 26:13Speaker 1: and Section 3283 applies retroactively. See Weingarten 865 F. 3d at 55.
- 26:21Speaker 1: If a statute would not create impermissible retroactive effects, then
- 26:25Speaker 1: the court should apply the statute to antecedent conduct. Accordingly,
- 26:29Speaker 1: the charges were timely. All right, folks, we're going to
- 26:32Speaker 1: wrap up this episode right here. And in the next episode,
- 26:35Speaker 1: we're going to pick up where we left off with
- 26:37Speaker 1: section 3283 reaches count three and count four. All of
- 26:42Speaker 1: the information that goes with this episode can be found
- 26:45Speaker 1: in the description box. What's up, everyone? And welcome back
- 26:49Speaker 1: to the Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to
- 26:52Speaker 1: pick up where we left off with the United States
- 26:55Speaker 1: response in brief to Glenn Maxwell's attempt to get an appeal. 2.
- 27:02Speaker 1: Section 3283 reaches Counts 3 and 4. Maxwell separately argues
- 27:08Speaker 1: that Section 3283 does not apply to Counts 3 and
- 27:11Speaker 1: 4 because neither is an offense involving the sexual or
- 27:14Speaker 1: physical abuse of a child. Maxwell contends that these counts,
- 27:19Speaker 1: which charged her with transporting a minor with intent that
- 27:22Speaker 1: the minor engage in illegal sexual activity and conspiracy to
- 27:25Speaker 1: do the same, are not offenses involving the sexual abuse
- 27:29Speaker 1: of a child, because a completed sex act is not
- 27:32Speaker 1: an essential element of either charge. But Maxwell does not
- 27:35Speaker 1: dispute that the evidence at trial established that her commission
- 27:39Speaker 1: of counts three and four involved completed sex acts abusing
- 27:43Speaker 1: one or more minor victims. Nor could she, as Jane testified,
- 27:47Speaker 1: that she was, in fact, sexually abused when transported across
- 27:51Speaker 1: state lines, including to New York as a minor. Instead,
- 27:55Speaker 1: Maxwell insists that counts three and four do not involve
- 27:58Speaker 1: sexual abuse of a child because a completed sex act
- 28:01Speaker 1: is not an element of those crimes. This argument misreads
- 28:04Speaker 1: the relevant statutes and legislative history, and runs contrary to
- 28:08Speaker 1: the decision of this court and other courts of appeals. A.
- 28:13Speaker 1: Counts 3 and 4 are offenses involving the sexual abuse
- 28:16Speaker 1: of a child. Maxwell's entire argument is based on a
- 28:20Speaker 1: mistaken premise, that the phrase offense involving the sexual abuse
- 28:24Speaker 1: of a child, U.S. Code 18, Section 3283, only encompasses
- 28:29Speaker 1: crime in which unlawful sexual activity actually took place. This
- 28:34Speaker 1: flawed proposition ignores relevant statutory definitions, which make clear that
- 28:38Speaker 1: Section 3283 reaches more broadly to include offenses in which
- 28:43Speaker 1: there were no completed illegal sex act. As described above,
- 28:48Speaker 1: Section 3283 was originally codified at U.S. Code 18, Section 3509-K.
- 28:55Speaker 1: The definition of the term sexual abuse is is located
- 28:58Speaker 1: within the same section. For purposes of this section, the
- 29:02Speaker 1: term sexual abuse includes the employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement,
- 29:08Speaker 1: or coercion of a child to engage in or assist
- 29:12Speaker 1: another person to engage in sexually explicit conduct or the rape, molestation, prostitution,
- 29:18Speaker 1: or other form of sexual exploitation of children or incest
- 29:22Speaker 1: with children. U.S. Code 18, Section... 35.09a.8, the term sexually
- 29:28Speaker 1: explicit conduct is in turn defined to mean, among other things,
- 29:32Speaker 1: sexual intercourse, including sexual conduct, and the term sexual contact
- 29:36Speaker 1: means the intentional touching, either directly or through closeness. of
- 29:40Speaker 1: the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of
- 29:45Speaker 1: any person with the intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade,
- 29:49Speaker 1: or arouse a gratifying sexual desire of any person. I.D.
- 29:54Speaker 1: Section 3509A, 9 and A. Courts have looked into the
- 29:58Speaker 1: definition of sexual abuse set forth in Section 3509A to
- 30:03Speaker 1: determine whether the statute of limitations of Section 3283 applies
- 30:08Speaker 1: to an offense. United States v. Carpenter, 680, F. 3d, 1101, 1103,
- 30:11Speaker 1: and 4, 9th Circuit, 2012. We join our sister circuits
- 30:13Speaker 1: in looking at Subsection 3509A for a definition of sexual
- 30:23Speaker 1: abuse under federal law and find it the appropriate definition
- 30:27Speaker 1: to use in applying Section 3283's extended statute of limitations.
- 30:33Speaker 1: The definition of sexual abuse includes not only actual sexual contact,
- 30:39Speaker 1: but also the employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion
- 30:44Speaker 1: of a child to engage in or assist another person
- 30:47Speaker 1: to engage in sexual contact. U.S. Code 18, Section 3509A.
- 30:52Speaker 1: The breadth of the definition is underscored by Congress's use
- 30:56Speaker 1: of the word includes in Section 3509A' s text, which is
- 31:00Speaker 1: significant because it makes clear that the examples enumerated in
- 31:05Speaker 1: the text are intended to be illustrative, not exhaustive. Christopher v.
- 31:10Speaker 1: Smith-Kline Beecham Corp. 567 U.S. 142.162.2012, citing Burgess v. United
- 31:13Speaker 1: States 552 U.S. 124.131.3.2008, and the text of Section 3283
- 31:15Speaker 1: goes even further beyond the definition provided in Section 3509
- 31:17Speaker 1: by covering any crime involving the sexual abuse of a child. Congress, therefore,
- 31:22Speaker 1: did not require a that a particular statute have actual
- 31:40Speaker 1: sexual contact with a minor as an element of its offense,
- 31:44Speaker 1: but rather swept broadly to cover any crime that in
- 31:47Speaker 1: any way involves sexual abuse as broadly defined. Given this
- 31:52Speaker 1: expansive language, sexual abuse as defined here encompasses a wider
- 31:56Speaker 1: set of behavior than just rape or other unwanted sexual touching.
- 32:00Speaker 1: United States v. Schneider, 801 F. 3d, 186, 197, 3rd Circuit, 2015. Thus,
- 32:08Speaker 1: courts throughout the country have concluded that Section 3283 applies
- 32:12Speaker 1: to a variety of offenses that do not require a
- 32:15Speaker 1: sexual act between a defendant and a specific child. United
- 32:19Speaker 1: States v. Vickers No. 13 CR 128 RJA 2014 WL
- 32:21Speaker 1: 183 8255 at 11 WDNY May 8, 2014 or physical
- 32:23Speaker 1: contact with the victim Carpenter 680 F. 3D at 1103 according
- 32:39Speaker 1: to the United States v. Deal 775, 714, 720, 5th Circuit, 2015.
- 32:48Speaker 1: Section 3283's definition thus captures crimes of intent where a
- 32:52Speaker 1: perpetrator seeks to have a minor engage in sexual contact
- 32:56Speaker 1: even if such sexual contact does not occur. Transportation of
- 33:00Speaker 1: a minor with intent to engage in a legal sex
- 33:03Speaker 1: act as charged in Count 4 and conspiracy to commit
- 33:06Speaker 1: the same as charged in Count 3 fall comfortably within
- 33:10Speaker 1: that definition. Even though a completed sex act is not
- 33:13Speaker 1: required to commit those two crimes, Count 4 has sexual
- 33:16Speaker 1: abuse as an element because it requires the defendant to
- 33:20Speaker 1: induce a child to engage in illegal sexual activity by
- 33:24Speaker 1: transporting the minor across state lines with an intent that
- 33:27Speaker 1: the child engage in an illegal sex act. U.S. Code 18,
- 33:31Speaker 1: Section 3509A8 and Count 3 as a conspiracy to commit
- 33:35Speaker 1: Count 4 is an offense involving such sexual abuse. ID
- 33:41Speaker 1: at 3283. See United States v. Scentsy, No. 08CR253, WWE, 2010, WL,
- 33:43Speaker 1: 2351484 at 2, N3, Connecticut, June 7, 2010. Collecting Cases
- 33:45Speaker 1: Interpreting the term sexual abuse to encompass all crimes that
- 33:47Speaker 1: would logically relate to the common understanding of sexual abuse
- 33:51Speaker 1: is even when found in Chapters 110, Sexual Exploitation and
- 34:10Speaker 1: Other Abuse of Children, and 117, Transportation of Illegal Sexual
- 34:15Speaker 1: Activity and Related Crimes of Title 18, Schneider, 801 F. 3d,
- 34:21Speaker 1: at 196-97, holding that Section 3283 applied the defendant convicted
- 34:27Speaker 1: of traveling with the purpose of engaging in sex with
- 34:30Speaker 1: a minor victim in violation of U.S. Code 18, Section 2423b, Accordingly,
- 34:37Speaker 1: even considering only the elements of the offenses, Counts 3
- 34:40Speaker 1: and 4 fall squarely within Section 3283's definition of an
- 34:45Speaker 1: offense involving sexual abuse of a child. b. Maxwell's argument
- 34:50Speaker 1: for use of a categorical approach lacks merit. Because Counts
- 34:54Speaker 1: 3 and 4 qualify, As offenses involving the sexual abuse
- 34:58Speaker 1: of a child, U.S. Code 18, Section 3283, even without
- 35:02Speaker 1: resort to the facts of the case, the court need
- 35:05Speaker 1: not to address Maxwell's claim that the categorical approach applies
- 35:09Speaker 1: in this context. But the arguments Maxwell advances in support
- 35:13Speaker 1: of her claims are meritless in any event. Maxwell first
- 35:17Speaker 1: relies on Section 3283's use of the phrase offense involving
- 35:21Speaker 1: the sexual abuse of a child, which she contends dictates
- 35:25Speaker 1: looking only to the elements of the offense. But as
- 35:28Speaker 1: this court has already recognized, Section 3283's text reaches beyond
- 35:33Speaker 1: the offense and its legal elements to the conduct involved
- 35:36Speaker 1: in the offense, a linguistic expansion that shows Congress's intent
- 35:41Speaker 1: for courts to look beyond the bare legal charges in
- 35:44Speaker 1: deciding whether Section 3283 applied. Weingarten, H65, F. 3D at 59
- 35:50Speaker 1: and 60. See also Nijuin versus Holder 557, U.S. 29, 32, 38, 2009.
- 35:57Speaker 1: Holding that a statute that includes an offense involves phrase
- 36:02Speaker 1: is consistent with the circumstance specific approach. Indeed, the Third
- 36:07Speaker 1: Circuit has expressly rejected an essential ingredient test comparable to
- 36:11Speaker 1: to the categorical approach and instead applied case-specific analysis to
- 36:16Speaker 1: determine that Section 3283 applied to travel with intent to
- 36:20Speaker 1: commit an illegal sex act with a minor in violation
- 36:23Speaker 1: of U.S. Code Section 2423B Schneider 801 F. 3D at 196
- 36:30Speaker 1: and 197. Maxwell also argues that the clearer weight of
- 36:34Speaker 1: authority holds that statutes employing similar language should be read
- 36:38Speaker 1: through a categorical rather than case-specific lens. but the decision
- 36:42Speaker 1: she cites involves statutes with other features favoring the categorical approach,
- 36:47Speaker 1: which are notably absent here. Some cases involve statutes that
- 36:51Speaker 1: define the crime of violence as an offense that either
- 36:55Speaker 1: has an element, the use of physical force, or by
- 36:58Speaker 1: its nature, involves a substantial risk of force, language that
- 37:02Speaker 1: invokes an elements-based approach. United States v. Davis, 139, Supreme Court, 2319-10.
- 37:07Speaker 1: 2328 and 29, 2019, Leocal v. Ashcroft, 543 U.S., 1
- 37:17Speaker 1: and 7, 2004. Some cases concerned the definition of an
- 37:21Speaker 1: aggravated felony under federal immigration law, Kawashima v. Holder, 565 U.S., 478, Leocal,
- 37:25Speaker 1: 543 U.S., 7, a context in which the categorical approach
- 37:28Speaker 1: traditionally applies to because the inquiry is whether the alien's
- 37:38Speaker 1: prior conviction meets the definition. Weingarten, 865 F. 3D, at 59,
- 37:44Speaker 1: and United States v. Morgan, 393 F. 3D, 192, D.C. Circuit, 2004,
- 37:52Speaker 1: is likewise distinguishable as it involved a venue statute presenting
- 37:56Speaker 1: significantly different concerns than those presented here. Maxwell also relies
- 38:02Speaker 1: on a trio of cases, chief among them Bridges v.
- 38:04Speaker 1: United States, 346 U.S. 209, 1953. In Bridges, the Supreme
- 38:10Speaker 1: Court applied an essential ingredient test to determine whether an
- 38:14Speaker 1: offense qualified for a provision that extended the criminal limitations
- 38:18Speaker 1: period for certain fraud offenses. Weingarten, 865 F. 3D at 59
- 38:24Speaker 1: and 10. But as this court has explained, Bridges is
- 38:27Speaker 1: distinguishable because the Supreme Court there believed applying the restrictive
- 38:32Speaker 1: essential ingredient test to determine if an offense involved the
- 38:36Speaker 1: defrauding of the United States, effectuated Congress's specific intent to
- 38:40Speaker 1: limit the extended limitations period to only a few offenses.
- 38:45Speaker 1: While Congress had the opposite intention for Section 3283, i.d.
- 38:48Speaker 1: the other two cases, United States v. Sharton, 285 U.S. 518, 1932,
- 38:51Speaker 1: and United States v. Novak, 271 U.S. 201, 1926, are
- 39:02Speaker 1: distinguishable on similar grounds. In any event, the essential ingredient
- 39:06Speaker 1: test does not help Maxwell. As discussed above, an offense
- 39:10Speaker 1: involving the sexual abuse of a child, U.S. Code 18,
- 39:13Speaker 1: Section 3283, must be read in light of the definition
- 39:17Speaker 1: of sexual abuse, set forth in Section 3509A, which encompasses
- 39:22Speaker 1: a wide range of conduct that is not limited to
- 39:25Speaker 1: actual sexual contact with the child. Counts 3 and 4
- 39:28Speaker 1: each have an essential ingredient that fits with a broad definition.
- 39:32Speaker 1: See Supra Point 2B2A. Finally, neither Deal nor United States v.
- 39:39Speaker 1: Contentos 651 F. 3D 809 8th Circuit 2011 supports the use
- 39:45Speaker 1: of a categorical approach. In each decision, the court concluded
- 39:49Speaker 1: that Section 3283 applied to the subject offenses without considering
- 39:53Speaker 1: the specific facts of the crime, but in neither case
- 39:56Speaker 1: did the court consider whether a categorical approach was required,
- 40:00Speaker 1: let alone hold that it was. As noted above, it
- 40:03Speaker 1: is undisputed that the evidence at trial established that Maxwell's
- 40:07Speaker 1: commission of counts 3 and 4 involved completed sex acts
- 40:11Speaker 1: abusing one or more minor victims. Jane testified that she
- 40:15Speaker 1: was in fact sexually abused when transported across state lines,
- 40:19Speaker 1: including to New York as a minor. Accordingly, counts three
- 40:22Speaker 1: and four qualify as offenses involving the sexual abuse of
- 40:25Speaker 1: a child, both by their statutory terms and based on
- 40:29Speaker 1: the specific facts of this case. All right, folks, we're
- 40:32Speaker 1: going to wrap up right here. And in the next episode,
- 40:34Speaker 1: we're going to pick up with point three. The district
- 40:37Speaker 1: court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that Juror
- 40:40Speaker 1: 50 could be fair and impartial, notwithstanding his inadvertent mistakes
- 40:45Speaker 1: on his juror questionnaire. All of the information that goes
- 40:48Speaker 1: with this episode can be found in the description box.