Criminal Law: Sexual Exploitation of a Child-Child Pornograph- Suppression of Evidence

Defendant appealed his conviction for sexual exploitation of a child and receipt of child pornography. On appeal, defendant argued that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence from his cell phone, excluding evidence defendant sought to admit at trial, and formulating the jury instructions.

Where the police’s informant only admitted to lying in her initial interview after the execution of the search warrant and defendant’s arrest, the search warrant was valid as it relied on testimony believed to be reliable at the time. The district court also properly excluded evidence that only had a marginal relationship to the issue of defendant’s guilt and would only serve to potentially induce the jury to “punish” the government’s witness for “misconduct.”

Judgment is affirmed.

U.S. v. Walker (MLW No. 79928/Case No. 22-2334 – 9 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Gruender) Appealed from U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota, Hovland, J. (Steven R. Morrison, of Grand Forks, ND for appellant) (Gary Lee Delorme, AUSA, of Bismarck, ND for appellee)