Filed: Nov. 21, 2016
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 16-1456 _ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ROBERT WARD, Appellant _ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Criminal No. 3-08-cr-00236-001) District Judge: Honorable A. Richard Caputo Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) October 25, 2016 BEFORE: VANASKIE, KRAUSE, and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges (Filed: November 21, 2016) _ OPINION* _ NYGAARD, Circuit Judge. * This disposi
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 16-1456 _ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ROBERT WARD, Appellant _ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Criminal No. 3-08-cr-00236-001) District Judge: Honorable A. Richard Caputo Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) October 25, 2016 BEFORE: VANASKIE, KRAUSE, and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges (Filed: November 21, 2016) _ OPINION* _ NYGAARD, Circuit Judge. * This disposit..
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
__________
No. 16-1456
__________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
ROBERT WARD,
Appellant
__________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Criminal No. 3-08-cr-00236-001)
District Judge: Honorable A. Richard Caputo
Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
October 25, 2016
BEFORE: VANASKIE, KRAUSE, and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges
(Filed: November 21, 2016)
__________
OPINION*
__________
NYGAARD, Circuit Judge.
*
This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.
Robert Ward appeals the District Court’s sentence of six months in prison and
three years of supervised release arising from his violation of the conditions of his
supervised release. We will affirm.1
Ward contends that the District Court grounded its sentence in the mistaken
conclusion that a condition of his supervised release specifically prohibited him from
viewing adult pornography online. He points to the following comment made by the
District Court during the sentencing hearing: “I know you like the pornography, right.
But it’s illegal, and you can’t – you know, you’ve been adjudged by the Court not to do
it. . . . And you failed to report accessing the internet on your monthly report forms to the
probation office and the treatment provider.” App. 62.2
The entirety of the hearing transcript makes it abundantly clear that the District
Court understood Ward was charged with violating the terms of his supervised release by
failing to get authorization for his use of unmonitored devices to access the internet, and
by submitting monthly reports to his probation officer that did not disclose this conduct.
Ward does not dispute that he accessed the internet on unmonitored devices, without
obtaining prior written approval. He also admitted that he did not disclose this conduct in
his reports to his probation officer. The District Court reviewed these admissions with
1
Ward failed to preserve the issues he brings on appeal because he did not raise any
objections to the District Court. Therefore, we review for plain error. United States v.
Flores-Mejia,
759 F.3d 253, 259 (3d Cir. 2014).
2
Ward adds that prohibiting his viewing of adult pornography online would violate his
rights under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Because we
conclude that Ward misinterpreted the District Court’s words, and that any error by the
District Court would have been harmless, we do not reach this issue.
2
him. We conclude from all of this that Ward’s interpretation of the District Court’s
words is mistaken. In the context of the whole hearing it is evident that, in the quotations
referenced by Ward, the District Court was referring to Ward’s unreported, unauthorized
and unmonitored use of the internet. The District Court had a proper understanding of
the legal and factual issues grounding the sentence it imposed.
However, even were we to find that the District Court erroneously said that Ward
violated the conditions of his supervised release by viewing, specifically, adult
pornography, our result would not be any different. The record provides ample support
for the District Court’s order. Additionally, the District Court’s sentence of six month’s
imprisonment and three years of supervised release was, as it properly noted, well within
the Guidelines range. Therefore, even if the District Court had made the factual or legal
misstatements Ward claims, he did not suffer any prejudice.
Ward has not carried his burden of demonstrating plain error. Accordingly, we
will affirm the order of the District Court.
3