United States v. Richard Sherwin and Ronald Coryell

Sherwin and Coryell were convicted of seven counts of interstate shipment of obscene materials for sale or distribution in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1462 & 1465. Sherwin was also convicted of conspiracy to use a common carrier for interstate transportation of obscene matter.

Coryell shipped magazines and playing cards to Sherwin, as Superhawk Industries, in Van Nuys, California. When the consignment arrived and was unloaded, FBI agents who had known the shipment was en route obtained search warrants and searched two Superhawk locations. Among the items seized was a variety of sexually explicit erotica.

At trial Sherwin moved to suppress certain evidence seized, alleging that the search warrants were issued without probable cause and that some seized items were not described in the warrants. The motion was denied.

Over defense objection, the district court instructed the jury that the scienter required on the part of the defendants was only knowledge of the “sexual orientation” of the materials shipped.

On appeal two arguments are made: (1) that the court erred in denying the motion to suppress, and (2) that it erred in instructing the jury on the issue of scienter. We affirm…