DOJ-OGR-00002989.jpg

748 KB

Extraction Summary

2
People
4
Organizations
0
Locations
4
Events
0
Relationships
4
Quotes

Document Information

Type: Legal document
File Size: 748 KB
Summary

This legal document argues that the 2003 amendment to the federal statute of limitations for child sexual abuse (18 U.S.C. § 3283) was expressly intended by Congress to apply retroactively to pre-enactment conduct. The document supports this claim by analyzing the text of the statute and citing legal precedent from the Second, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits, which have held that Congress intended to extend the time to bring charges for live claims.

People (2)

Name Role Context
Jeffries
Mentioned as a party in the court case United States v. Jeffries.
Johns
Mentioned as a party in the court case United States v. Johns.

Organizations (4)

Name Type Context
Congress government agency
Mentioned throughout as the legislative body that amended the statute of limitations.
Second Circuit government agency
Mentioned as a judicial body that has considered Congress's intent in the Landgraf inquiry.
Eighth Circuit government agency
Mentioned as a judicial body that has held that Congress intended to extend the statute of limitations for live claim...
Ninth Circuit government agency
Mentioned as a judicial body that has held that Congress intended to extend the statute of limitations for live claim...

Timeline (4 events)

1994
The 1994 version of the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse is mentioned for comparison with the 2003 amendment.
1994
The Eighth Circuit court case United States v. Johns was decided.
2003
The 2003 amendment of 18 U.S.C. § 3283, which extended the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse.
2005
The Eighth Circuit court case United States v. Jeffries was decided.

Key Quotes (4)

"expressly prescribed the statute’s proper reach."
Source
— Landgraf, 511 U.S. at 280 (Quoted as the standard for step one of the Landgraf analysis for retroactive application of a statute.)
DOJ-OGR-00002989.jpg
Quote #1
"[n]o statute of limitations that would otherwise preclude prosecution” of a child sexual offense “shall preclude” prosecution of such offense during the life of the victim."
Source
— 18 U.S.C. § 3283 (2003) (Quoted from the 2003 amendment to demonstrate Congress's intent to extend the statute of limitations.)
DOJ-OGR-00002989.jpg
Quote #2
"otherwise preclude prosecution."
Source
— Legal term from statute (Used to explain how the previous statute of limitations would have operated before being replaced by the 2003 amendment.)
DOJ-OGR-00002989.jpg
Quote #3
"both the title and wording of § 3509(k) indicate that Congress intended by it to extend the general statute of limitations. . . . § 3509(k) was later recodified at § 3283 and continued to extend the statute of limitations in child abuse cases."
Source
— Eighth Circuit in United States v. Jeffries (Quoted as the reasoning of the Eighth Circuit for why Congress intended to extend the statute of limitations.)
DOJ-OGR-00002989.jpg
Quote #4

Full Extracted Text

Complete text extracted from the document (2,251 characters)

Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 204 Filed 04/16/21 Page 55 of 239
impermissible retroactive effects.” Id. For the reasons set forth below, the 2003 amendment of 18 U.S.C. § 3283 satisfies both steps of Landgraf, and should be applied to pre-enactment conduct.
1. The 2003 Amendment Satisfies Step One of Landgraf
At step one of the Landgraf analysis, the question is whether Congress has “expressly prescribed the statute’s proper reach.” Landgraf, 511 U.S. at 280. When evaluating Congress’s intent at step one of the Landgraf inquiry, the Second Circuit has considered both the text of the statute and the legislative history. Enterprise, 391 F.3d at 406-08. In this case, the amended versions of Section 3283 evince Congress’s express intent to extend the statute of limitations. The text and history of Section 3283 firmly establish that, with each amendment of the statute of limitations, Congress intended to repeal and replace the prior version of the statute and thereby extend the time to bring live charges of child sexual abuse.
The 2003 amendment, like the 1994 version of the statute, specifically states that “[n]o statute of limitations that would otherwise preclude prosecution” of a child sexual offense “shall preclude” prosecution of such offense during the life of the victim. 18 U.S.C. § 3283 (2003). Claims that were live in 2003 were, at the time, subject to the then-existing statute of limitations, which ran until the victims reached the age of 25. Whenever that statute of limitations ran, it would “otherwise preclude prosecution.” Instead, that statute of limitations was replaced by the 2003 amendment.
The Eighth and Ninth Circuits have both held that Congress intended to extend the statute of limitations for live claims of sexual abuse. In United States v. Jeffries, 405 F.3d 682 (8th Cir. 2005), the Eighth Circuit reasoned that “both the title and wording of § 3509(k) indicate that Congress intended by it to extend the general statute of limitations. . . . § 3509(k) was later recodified at § 3283 and continued to extend the statute of limitations in child abuse cases.” Id. at 684 (citing United States v. Johns, 15 F.3d 740, 743 (8th Cir. 1994) (holding that an earlier version
28
DOJ-OGR-00002989

Discussion 0

Sign in to join the discussion

No comments yet

Be the first to share your thoughts on this epstein document