COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
United States – Appellant
Versus
Schaffer – Respondent
In the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ________ AUGUST TERM 2016 No. 15‐2516‐cr UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. GREGORY JOHN SCHAFFER, AKA JOHN ARCHAMBEAULT, Defendant‐Appellant. ________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. ________ ARGUED: SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 DECIDED: MARCH 15, 2017 ________ Before: WALKER, CABRANES, Circuit Judges, and BERMAN, Judge.* ________ * Judge Richard M. Berman, of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, sitting by designation. Gregory John Schaffer appeals from a judgment of conviction entered on July 24, 2015, following a trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Allyne R. Ross, Judge). A jury convicted Schaffer of, among other crimes, coercing and enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b).
Prior to trial, Schaffer moved to suppress incriminating statements he made to law enforcement on the ground that they were made during a custodial interrogation without the benefit of a Miranda warning. The District Court denied Schaffer’s motion, holding that Schaffer was not in “custody” for purposes of Miranda. Schaffer also opposed the government’s introduction at trial of portions of four videos that showed him committing prior sexual assaults on two minor girls. He asserted that the admission of these videos would violate his right to due process. The District Court permitted the government to introduce the videos after concluding that they were admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 413 and were not unfairly prejudicial under Federal Rule of Evidence 403. On appeal, Schaffer challenges both of the District Court’s rulings, arguing, most notably, that Rule 413 violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
We hold that the District Court did not err in denying Schaffer’s motion to suppress, because Schaffer was not in custody at the time he made his incriminating statements. We further hold that Rule 413 does not violate the Due Process Clause, and that the
2 District Court did not err by permitting the government to introduce at trial portions of the four videos.
Accordingly, we AFFIRM the District Court’s judgment of conviction.
________ ALLEGRA GLASHAUSSER, Federal Defenders of New York, Inc., Appeals Bureau, New York, NY for Defendant‐Appellant. PETER W. BALDWIN, Assistant United States Attorney (Amy Busa, Assistant United States Attorney, on the brief) for Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn, NY, for Appellee. ________ JOSÉ A. CABRANES, Circuit Judge:
Defendant‐Appellant Gregory John Schaffer appeals from a judgment of conviction entered on July 24, 2015, following a trial in the United States D
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