United States v. James Mitchell, Aka/jim Mitchell

Appellant James Mitchell was charged with knowingly receiving material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in violation of the Child Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2252 (a)(2), following the government’s targeting and soliciting him in a sting operation known as “Project Looking Glass.” Mitchell moved for dismissal of his indictment on grounds of outrageous government conduct. The district court denied the motion on the grounds that appellant had been predisposed to commit the crime and that the sting operation did not constitute outrageous government conduct. Mitchell then entered a conditional guilty plea that reserved his right to appeal the outrageous government conduct issue. Mitchell appealed. The trial court had jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231 . This court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm the decision of the district court.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

A motion to dismiss an indictment on grounds of unreasonable governmental conduct is a question of law reviewed de novo with factual findings reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard. United States v. Bogart, 783 F.2d 1428, 1434 (9th Cir.), vacated on other grounds sub nom.…