United States v. Napier

Napier was convicted of 12 counts of production, transportation, distribution, and receipt of child pornography, stemming from his sexual molestation of an 11-month-old baby and a 9- year-old girl, which he filmed and then traded on the Internet with others who share child pornography. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, rejecting Napier’s arguments that the district court erred in: denying his motion to dismiss the indictment, which was based on alleged prosecutorial misconduct in the form of participation by an assistant U.S. attorney in Napier’s improper transfer out federal custody and into state custody; denying his motion for judgment of acquittal, because the government failed to prove an interstate commerce connection for all 12 counts of conviction; admitting at trial, over Napier’s objections, various electronic devices as exhibits that included markings indicating the devices were manufactured outside of the United States and a document obtained from Time Warner Cable Company; and denying his motion to vacate his conviction on the distribution-of-child-pornography charge, which was allegedly afflicted by a “fatal” variance and violated Napier’s due process rights. View "United States v. Napier" on Justia Law