United States v. Gaqliardi, No. 06-4541-cr (2d Cir. October 22, 2007) (Walker, Calabresi, Sack, CJJ).
This case shuts the door on number of common challenges to convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), which makes it a crime to entice a minor to engage in an illegal sexual act, or to attempt to do so. In relatively short order, the court held that: (1) because the statute prohibits attempts, it covers sting operations in which there is no minor victim (here the court joins six other circuits); (2) the statute is not vague, in that its various terms – entice, persuade, coerce, etc., – although not defined, are words in common usage that have ordinary meanings (joining five other circuits); (3) the statute does not criminalize speech that is protected First Amendment and hence is not overbroad.
Gagliardi also made some novel arguments, which the court also rejected. The five-year mandatory …