State v. Silverstein
State v. Silverstein
Opinion of the Court
¶ 1.
Samuel Silverstein appeals from a judgment of conviction, entered on his guilty plea, for three counts of possession of child pornography. Silverstein first argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence recovered from his computer after the search of his home pursuant to a warrant. He contends that the affidavit for the search warrant failed to state probable cause because it was based on "the uncorroborated tip of an anonymous informant." The informant was Tumblr-.com ("Tumblr"), an electronic service provider ("ESP") required by federal law to report suspected child pornography to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ("NCMEC"), which in turn provided the information to the police.
¶ 2. We conclude, based on Wisconsin case law regarding citizen informants found in State v. Paszek, 50 Wis. 2d 619, 630, 184 N.W.2d 836 (1971), and State v. Kerr, 181 Wis. 2d 372, 381, 511 N.W.2d 586 (1994), that a tip from an ESP is properly viewed as one from an identified citizen informant, not an anonymous informant, which therefore establishes the personal reliability requirement in our case law. Additionally, the affidavit here also shows sufficient indicia of observational reliability of the ESP. Therefore, applying the "great deference" we pay to a determination of probable cause, see State v. Anderson, 138 Wis. 2d 451, 469, 406 N.W.2d 398 (1987), we conclude that the warrant-issuing magistrate "had a substantial basis for concluding that a search would uncover evidence of wrongdoing." See id. Accordingly, we uphold the determination.
¶ 4. We reject Silverstein's arguments and affirm.
BACKGROUND
¶ 5. This case has a fact pattern common in internet child pornography cases. A private company
The NCMEC Cybertip listed the reporting agency was Tumblr. Said report indicated on 06/01/15 at about 17:45:00 UTC,6 Tumblr created a report regarding "Child Pornography" related to URL: "famousenemy-land.tumblr.com" with email [email protected] and IP Address 99.185.140.72.
¶ 7. In a page from the NCMEC "CyberTipline Report" that was attached to the affidavit, the "[s]ub-mitter" is identified as:
Tumblr
Mahashraya Sundararaman
¶ 8. According to the affidavit for the warrant, NCMEC reported that the Tumblr tip identified specific file names for nine still images and a video depicting child pornography. After receiving the infor
¶ 9. The warrant affidavit, signed by Detective Bryan Bichler of the Glendale Police Department and attached to eleven pages from the NCMEC reports, further states that through subpoenas and search warrants, Officer Ryan Bowe of the Bayside Police Department determined that the subscriber using the identified IP address was Sam Silverstein of 6898 N. Seville Ave. in Glendale. A search warrant was issued on Detective Bidder's affidavit, and Silverstein's house was searched.
¶ 10. Police found a flash drive containing videos ranging in length from one minute to twenty-three minutes. The videos portrayed females estimated to be four to fourteen years old engaged in sexual activity; seven of the videos depicted sex acts involving a female child and an adult male.
¶ 12. After the trial court denied Silverstein's motion to suppress, he pled guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to three counts and the remaining seven were dismissed and read in. He now appeals the conviction raising again the constitutional challenge to the search warrant's sufficiency and adding another, a due process challenge to the application of the minimum mandatory sentence requirements of Wis. Stat. § 939.617 to his sentence.
DISCUSSION
I. We uphold the determination that the affidavit stated probable cause to issue a search warrant.
A. The standard of review.
¶ 13. A court reviewing a challenge to probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant "examines the totality of the circumstances presented to the
B. Law regarding sufficiency of applications for warrants to search: Identified citizen informants vs. anonymous citizen informants.
¶ 14. Review of the sufficiency of an affidavit necessarily focuses on personal and observational reliability of the informant. "In examining whether probable cause existed, we first consider the 'veracity' and 'basis of knowledge' of persons supplying the hearsay information." Id. at 381. See also Illinois v. Gates, 462
¶ 15. "Our courts recognize the importance of citizen informants and accordingly apply a relaxed test of reliability that shifts from a question of 'personal reliability' to one of'observational reliability.'" State v. Kolk, 2006 WI App 261, ¶ 13, 298 Wis. 2d 99, 726 N.W.2d 337 (citation omitted). "However, 'there must be some type of evaluation of the reliability of victim and witness informants, although the standard to be applied is much less stringent.'" Id. (citation omitted). Observational reliability is described in this way: "(T)he reliability of such a person should be evaluated from the nature of his report, his opportunity to hear and see the matters reported, and the extent to which it can be verified by independent police investigation." Id. (citation omitted).
C. Silverstein's arguments.
¶ 17. Silverstein argues that the Glendale detective's affidavit in support of the search warrant failed to establish probable cause, giving three reasons, all of which relate to the reliability of the tip from Tumblr to NCMEC.
¶ 18. First, he argues that the Tumblr tip was unreliable because "[njothing in the affidavit or attached NCMEC paperwork indicates who at Tumblr came to suspect criminal activity." Therefore, he analogizes it to a tip from an anonymous informant which requires police corroboration. For this proposition, he cites to language in Kolk: "Both [a confidential infor
¶ 19. We do not agree that the Tumblr tip is an anonymous tip. Most obviously, as the State points out, the name of a person, Mahashraya Sundararaman, is included as the "submitter" on the initial report to NCMEC. Because the identity of the informant is known, the tip in this case is more analogous to a tip from a citizen informant. But even if the identity of the submitter were not known, Tumblr is not an anonymous entity in the context of the categories recognized in case law. First, Tumblr is not a criminal giving information to obtain a concession. Rather, Tumblr is a named, traceable entity that is reporting a crime in furtherance of public safety. And Tumblr gains nothing from making the tip. Further, as an ESP, Tumblr is under federal mandate to report suspected child abuse to NCMEC. We note that courts in other jurisdictions have held that this obligation itself heightens the reliability of the tip. See State v. Woldridge, 958 So. 2d 455, 458 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007) (holding that "AOL's compliance with a federal law mandating that it report Woldridge's activities to NCMEC provides a presumption of reliability akin to that afforded a citizen informant").
¶ 20. Second, Silverstein argues that even if the tip is from an identified citizen informant, the tip does not satisfy the requirement that an affidavit provide
¶ 21. He points to three defects in the affidavit relative to the Tumblr tip: that there are discrepancies between the affidavit and the attached documentation as to certain details,
f 22. None of the missing information is fatal to probable cause, and Silverstein points to no case where a warrant affidavit was found insufficient for lack of the details he identifies. The well-established test for probable cause is that it is "flexible," Kerr, 181 Wis. 2d at 379, and is "a practical commonsense decision," Gates, 462 U.S. at 238, that is made considering "the totality of the circumstances." Romero, 317 Wis. 2d 12, ¶ 3. Prove-up of every detail is not required in a warrant affidavit, as is consistent with the policy that is designed to encourage law enforcement to obtain search warrants in the first place. See DeSmidt, 155 Wis. 2d at 132-33. The level of probable cause required for a search warrant affidavit is lower than that for even bindover at the preliminary hearing stage. Kerr,
¶ 23. More particularly, the observational reliability is well established here. Not only is Tumblr required to report criminal images from blogs it hosts, its employees are in the position to see the blogs and know identifying features of the blog poster. Here its own records identified the name of Silverstein's blog, his email address ([email protected]), and his IP address.
¶ 24. Third, Silverstein argues that Romero requires that an affidavit must show "whether the de-clarant had a basis for his or her allegations," and that this requirement is not satisfied in this case because the affiant was a Glendale police officer who did not explain how Tumblr came to know about the tip it passed on to NCMEC. He argues that without the detail provided, "it could be the product of rumor or speculation." In this he apparently challenges Tum-blr's credibility. Again, the particular details Silver-
¶ 25. In fact, police corroboration did occur here in that Officer Bowe did review the Tumblr images and confirmed they depicted criminal activity and verified that the email name and address were consistent with the identity of the individual who lived at the residence to be searched. Furthermore, Silverstein has not provided any basis for the warrant-issuing magistrate to conclude that the Tumblr source was not credible. See Kerr, 181 Wis. 2d at 381 ("The warrant-issuing [magistrate] could reasonably conclude that [the citizen] was credible because he was a citizen informant who had experience [relevant to his observations], and no information suggested he was not credible." (Emphasis added.)).
¶ 26. We conclude that the warrant-issuing magistrate had a substantial basis for concluding that probable cause existed. See Gates, 462 U.S. at 239. We therefore affirm the court's determination that the affidavit stated probable cause to search Silverstein's residence.
A. Standard of review.
¶ 27. The constitutionality of a statute is a question of law, which we review de novo. State v. Cole, 2003 WI 112, ¶ 10, 264 Wis. 2d 520, 665 N.W.2d 328. Statutes are presumed to be constitutional, and a party challenging a statute's constitutionality must demonstrate that it is unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Baron, 2009 WI 58, ¶ 10, 318 Wis. 2d 60, 769 N.W.2d 34. This presumption and burden apply to as-applied constitutional challenges to statutes as well as to facial challenges. State v. Wood, 2010 WI 17, ¶ 15, 323 Wis. 2d 321, 780 N.W.2d 63. Whether a defendant's right to due process was violated also presents a question of law that we review de novo. State v. McGuire, 2010 WI 91 ¶ 26, 328 Wis. 2d 289, 786 N.W.2d 227.
B. Relevant law.
The mandatory minimum sentence statute.
¶ 28. Wisconsin Stat. § 939.617, Minimum sentence for certain child sex offenses, requires sentencing courts to impose specific sentences for violations of Wis. Stat. § 948.12, the child pornography statute, and creates a limited exception to the mandatory minimum. It states as follows:
(1) Except as provided in subs. (2) and (3), if a person is convicted of a violation of s. ... 948.12, the court*62 shall impose a bifurcated sentence under s. 973.01. The term of confinement in prison portion of the bifurcated sentence shall be ... 3 years for violations of s. 948.12. Otherwise the penalties for the crime apply, subject to any applicable penalty enhancement.
(2) If the court finds that the best interests of the community will be served and the public will not be harmed and if the court places its reasons on the record, the court may impose a sentence that is less than the sentence required under sub. (1) or may place the person on probation under any of the following circumstances:
(a) If the person is convicted of a violation of s. 948.05, the person is no more than 48 months older than the child who is the victim of the violation.
(b) If the person is convicted of a violation of s. 948.12, the person is no more than 48 months older than the child who engaged in the sexually explicit conduct.
(Emphasis added.)
The requirements of due process.
¶ 29. "Due process requires that the law set forth fair notice of the conduct prohibited or required and proper standards for enforcement of the law and adjudication." State v. Popanz, 112 Wis. 2d 166, 172, 332 N.W.2d 750 (1983). "[A] statute is void for vagueness if it fails to give notice to those wishing to obey the law that their conduct falls within the proscribed area, or if it fails to provide those who must enforce and apply the law objective standards with which to do so." State v. Curiel, 227 Wis. 2d 389, 415, 597 N.W.2d 697 (1999). "[I]f arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement is to be prevented, laws must provide explicit standards for those who apply them." Grayned v. City of Rockford,
C. Silverstein's argument.
¶ 30. Silverstein argues that the mandatory minimum statute is unconstitutionally vague because the legislature failed to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement of the child pornography statutes. In support of his argument, he cites in his brief a dozen cases where, he alleges, the mandatory minimum was not interpreted by various circuit courts to apply as it was interpreted to apply to him by the circuit court.
¶ 31. Wisconsin Stat. § 939.617(2), the subsection at issue, describes the circumstances under which "the court may impose a sentence that is less than the sentence required under sub. (1)." Silverstein argues that the statute was drafted in a way that rendered it unconstitutionally vague because under one reading of the statute, the exception applies only "if the person is no more than 48 months older than the child who engaged in the sexually explicit conduct," and under a second reading of the statute, the exception applies if "the court finds that the best interests of the community will be served and the public will not be harmed and if the court places its reasons on the record"— regardless of the age of the person.
¶ 32. We first note that it is well established that differences in sentences for defendants who appear to be similarly situated does not generally serve as
f 33. More importantly, we fundamentally disagree with the premise of Silverstein's argument: that there is more than one way to read the statute. In Holcomb, 371 Wis. 2d 647, this court interpreted Wis. Stat. § 939.617 and concluded that the interpretation requiring a mandatory minimum sentence for all defendants except certain youthful offenders is "plain and unambiguous" and "does not support" a second interpretation. Id., ¶¶ 8,15. This court concluded that "[t]he only reasonable construction" of the statute requires the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence for all except those defendants who are less than forty-eight months older than the child-victim. Id., ¶¶ 8, 11. Holcomb was addressing a statutory construction question, not a constitutional argument, but its holding is equally dispositive of the due process fair notice issue. We therefore reject Silverstein's fair notice argument and affirm.
By the Court.—Judgment affirmed.
All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2015-16 version unless otherwise noted.
In State v. Holcomb, this court addressed and rejected Holcomb's statutory argument—-the same argument Silver-stein made at the trial court—that the legislature intended for Wis. Stat. § 939.617(1) to permit departures from the mandatory minimum for all defendants. A petition for supreme court review of that case was pending at the time this case was appealed. Our supreme court denied the petition for review on December 13, 2016. State v. Holcomb, 2016 WI App 70, 371 Wis. 2d 647, 886 N.W.2d 100, review denied (WI Dec. 13, 2016) (No. 2015AP996).
The requirement for such entities to report any individual who appears to have violated federal child pornography law is found at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2258A(a)(l) and (b)(1); they must "make a report of such facts or circumstances to the [NCMEC] CyberTipline," and provide, where possible, "electronic mail address, Internet Protocol address, uniform resource locator, or any other identifying information, including self-reported identifying information[.]" § 2258A (b)(1). Penalties for knowingly and willfully failing to report are set forth in § 2258A(e) (fines up to $300,000).
As provided by 42 U.S.C. § 6773(b)(l)(P)(i), NCMEC is funded in order to "operate a cyber tipline to provide online users and electronic service providers an effective means of reporting Internet-related child sexual exploitation in the areas of. . . possession, manufacture, and distribution of child pornography!.]" The relevant definitions for electronic service provider and electronic communication service are found in 18 U.S.C. § 2510(15) and 18 U.S.C. § 2711.
The log-in page at the Tumblr.com describes the web site as follows:
Tumblr is so easy to use that it's hard to explain. We made it really, really simple for people to make a blog and put whatever they want on it. Stories, photos, GIFs, TV shows, links, quips, dumb jokes, smart jokes, Spotify tracks, mp3s, videos, fashion, art, deep stuff. Tumblr is 353 million different blogs, filled with literally whatever.
See Tumblr, https://www.tumblr.com/login (last visited June 29, 2017).
"UTC[,] Coordinated Universal Time (or Universal Time Coordinated) [,] is the standard time common to every place in the world, formerly called Greenwich Mean Time[.]" Estate of Srock v. United States, 462 F. Supp. 2d 812, 815 (E.D. Mich. 2006).
It is not disputed that the images constituted child pornography, and we therefore do not further detail the contents.
The Honorable Stephanie Rothstein was the judge who approved and signed the search warrant.
Wisconsin's approach mirrors that of other jurisdictions in typically crediting identified citizen informants with greater reliability than anonymous citizen informants. See City of Maumee v. Weisner, 720 N.E.2d 507, 513 (Ohio 1999) (finding information provided by identified citizen sufficiently credible without police corroboration); State v. Slater, 986 P.2d 1038, 1043 (Kan. 1999) (discussing cases nationwide where citizen tips supported traffic stops and stating that such tips are "high on the reliability scale").
The State and Silverstein agree that the informant in this case is Tumblr. See Manzione v. State, 719 S.E.2d 533, 537 (Ga. Ct. App. 2011); State v. Woldridge, 958 So. 2d 455, 459 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007).
The State and Silverstein both describe the affidavit's attached NCMEC report as missing every second page, as a result of what appears to have been a clerical error.
The State directs our attention to cases from other jurisdictions that have held that an ESP such as Tumblr is a reliable source for a tip regarding the discovery of child pornography. Our review of these cases does not reveal any inclination by courts to apply the heightened requirements Silverstein would have us apply. For example, one court noted, "[T]he federal courts, having addressed numerous issues surrounding the issuance of search warrants in digital child pornography cases in great detail, have demonstrated no skepticism toward the reliability and basis of knowledge of the information at the genesis of such investigations." People v. Pierre, 29 N.Y.S.3d 110, 117 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2016) (rejecting defendant's characterization of ESP as a confidential informant requiring additional police corroboration).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Samuel Silverstein
- Cited By
- 19 cases
- Status
- Published