United States v. Jeremy Ward
Split Score
What is a Split Score?
This score (0-100) indicates how likely this case is to be reviewed by the Supreme Court based on:
Case Summary
Disposition
Affirmed
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Jeremy Ward’s conviction for enticement of a minor under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), rejecting his argument that the jury should have been instructed on Arkansas’s affirmative defense regarding reasonable belief of a minor’s age. The court held that § 2422(b) requires only proof that the sexual activity was something for which a person could be charged, not that all elements (including affirmative defenses) of the referenced state offense be proved, and found any instructional error harmless.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) requires the government to prove, as an element, that the defendant’s conduct would satisfy all elements of the underlying state offense (including the absence of affirmative defenses) or merely that the sexual activity is chargeable under state law.
Circuit Positions
§ 2422(b) incorporates all elements of the predicate state offense; jury must be instructed on applicable state-law affirmative defenses.
§ 2422(b) requires only that the sexual activity be chargeable; affirmative defenses to the state offense are not federal elements.
Conflict Summary
The First and Seventh Circuits require the government to prove every element of the predicate state offense—and thus to instruct the jury on state-law affirmative defenses—while the Eighth Circuit holds that § 2422(b) only requires proof that the sexual activity is one for which a person can be charged, making affirmative defenses irrelevant to the federal elements.