US v. Cooper
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
Vacated
The First Circuit rejected most of Sherriff Cooper’s challenges to his convictions for sex-trafficking and transporting a minor for illegal sexual activity but agreed that the jury, not the judge, should have decided whether Massachusetts was a proper venue for the forced-labor count. Accordingly, it affirmed the first two convictions, vacated the forced-labor conviction, and remanded for further proceedings.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Threshold showing a defendant must make to place criminal venue 'in issue' so that the jury — not the judge — must decide proper venue.
Circuit Positions
Venue is 'in issue' whenever the defendant introduces evidence creating any genuine factual dispute; the jury must then decide venue.
Venue goes to the jury only if the defendant makes it a 'serious issue'; overwhelming government evidence can keep the question from the jury.
Conflict Summary
Most circuits hold that a defendant places venue 'in issue' by introducing any evidence that creates a genuine factual dispute as to the location of the crime, triggering a jury determination. The Seventh Circuit, however, requires that the defendant make venue a more 'serious issue,' permitting courts to withhold the question from the jury when the government's venue proof is overwhelming.