Legal Opinion
United States v. Malcom Copeland
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Decided May 2, 2016No. 15-50208PublishedCited by 17 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
STEPHEN A. HIGGINSON, Circuit Judge:
A jury convicted Malcom Deandre Copeland 1 of sex trafficking of children in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1591. The questions on appeal are (1) whether the statute imposes “strict liability” on the defendant regarding the victim’s age, and (2) if so, does removal of scienter regarding the victim’s age violate the Due Process Clause.
I. Background
In response to a possible missing person report, police officers were dispatched to a Motel 6 in San Antonio, Texas. The first victim in this case, T.J., was in the room. T.J. was a runaway. She met Marcus Wright,…
2Cases cited15 opinions
- Morissette v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1952
- United States v. X-Citement Video, Inc.Supreme Court of the United States · 1994
- United States v. FeolaSupreme Court of the United States · 1975
- United States v. Mondragon-SantiagoCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2009
- Radlax Gateway Hotel, LLC v. Amalgamated BankSupreme Court of the United States · 2012
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3Cited by17 opinions
- United States v. Jermayne WhyteCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2019
- United States v. Deion LockhartCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2016
- United States v. Raymond Valas, IIICourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2016
- United States v. DuongCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 2017
- United States v. Amos KoechCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 2021
12 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.