United States v. Juan Pablo Price

Summary

In this published Ninth Circuit opinion, the court affirmed a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2244(b) for abusive sexual contact on an international flight, holding that the statute's "knowingly" mens rea applies only to the act of engaging in sexual contact, not to the element that the contact was without the victim's permission. The court rejected the defendant's argument that the government must prove he subjectively knew the victim did not consent, reasoning that the text, structure, and purpose of the Sexual Abuse Act focus on the defendant's conduct and that the lack-of-permission element is an objective, not subjective, requirement. The panel also held that police had probable cause to arrest the defendant based on the flight crew's report, that his Miranda waiver was knowing and voluntary, and that the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to read back the victim's testimony to the jury. The opinion includes a concurrence by Judge Gilman (disagreeing on the scienter issue but finding any error harmless) and a dissent from the denial of rehearing en banc by Judge Collins (arguing "knowingly" should apply to all elements).