throbber
Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page1 of 186
`
`15-1815
`
`To Be Argued By:
`EUN YOUNG CHOI
`
`United States Court of Appeals
`
`FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
`
`Docket No. 15-1815
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
`
`—v.—
`
`Appellee,
`
`ROSS WILLIAM ULBRICHT,
`also known as Dread Pirate Roberts, also known as Silk Road,
`also known as Sealed Defendant 1, also known as DPR,
`
`Defendant-Appellant.
`
`ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
`
`BRIEF FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
`
`PREET BHARARA,
`United States Attorney for the
`Southern District of New York,
`Attorney for the United States
`of America.
`One St. Andrew’s Plaza
`New York, New York 10007
`(212) 637-2200
`
`EUN YOUNG CHOI,
`MICHAEL D. NEFF,
`TIMOTHY T. HOWARD,
`ADAM S. HICKEY,
`Assistant United States Attorneys,
`Of Counsel.
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page2 of 186
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`
`
`PAGE
`Preliminary Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 
`Statement of Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 
`A.  The Government’s Case at Trial . . . . . . . . . 4 
`1.  Overview of the Silk Road Website . . . 4 
`a.  The Tor Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 
`b.  The Silk Road User Interface . . . . . 6 
`“Dread Pirate Roberts” Controlled
`c. 
`Silk Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 
`Illegal Goods and Services Sold
`on the Silk Road Website . . . . . . . . . . 10 
`a. 
`Illegal Narcotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 
`b.  Fraudulent Identification
`Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 
`c.  Computer Hacking Tools
`and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 
`d.  Money Laundering Services . . . . . 13 
`3.  Ross Ulbricht’s Creation and Operation
`of the Silk Road Website . . . . . . . . . . . 14 
`a.  Ulbricht Creates and Launches
`Silk Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 
`
`2. 
`
`

`
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`
`ii
`
`PAGE
`
`b.  Ulbricht’s Willingness to Use
`Violence to Protect His Interests
`in Silk Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 
`c.  Ulbricht Orders Fraudulent
`Identification Documents
`from Silk Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 
`d.  Ulbricht’s Arrest and His
`Electronic Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 
`4.  The Volume of Illegal Transactions
`on Silk Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 
`B.  The Defense Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 
`C.  The Verdict and Sentencing . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 
`ARGUMENT: 
`POINT I—There Was No Discovery Violation . . . . . 30 
`A.  Relevant Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 
`1.  The Maryland Investigation
`of Silk Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 
`2.  The Government’s Pretrial Disclosure
`of the Investigation of Carl Force . . . . 32 
`3.  The District Court Denies
`Ulbricht’s Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 
`
`

`
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`
`iii
`
`PAGE
`
`4.  The Defense’s Attempts to Introduce
`Evidence Relating to the Force
`Investigation During Trial . . . . . . . . . 37 
`5.  Ulbricht Moves for a New Trial
`While the San Francisco USAO Charges
`Carl Force and Shaun Bridges . . . . . . 38 
`B.  Applicable Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 
`1.  The Government’s Discovery
`Obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 
`a.  Rule 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 
`b.  The Jencks Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 
`c.  Brady v. Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 
`2.  Rule 17(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 
`3.  Standards of Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 
`C.  Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 
`1.  There Was No Brady Violation . . . . . . 48 
`2.  The District Court Did Not Abuse Its
`Discretion in Denying Ulbricht’s
`Discovery Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 
`3.  There Was No Abuse of Discretion
`in Denying an Adjournment . . . . . . . . 56 
`
`

`
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`
`iv
`
`PAGE
`
`4.  The Government Produced Jencks Act
`Material in a Timely Fashion . . . . . . . 57 
`5.  The District Court Properly Precluded
`Cross-Examination Using Force’s
`Hearsay Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 
`POINT II—The District Court’s Limitations on Cross-
`Examination Were Proper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 
`A.  Relevant Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 
`1.  Agent Der-Yeghiayan’s Testimony
`About Mark Karpeles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 
`2.  Thomas Kiernan’s Testimony
`About Ulbricht’s Computer . . . . . . . . . 65 
`B.  Applicable Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 
`1.  The Confrontation Clause . . . . . . . . . . 66 
`2.  Alternative Perpetrator Evidence . . . . 68 
`3.  Opinions of Law Enforcement
`Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 
`C.  Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 
`1.  Agent Der-Yeghiayan’s Testimony
`Was Properly Limited to Facts . . . . . . 70 
`2.  The District Court Properly Excluded the
`Fourth-Hand Hearsay of Karpeles . . . 75 
`
`

`
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`
`v
`
`PAGE
`
`3.  The District Court Reasonably Limited
`Cross-Examination of Kiernan to the
`Scope of His Direct Testimony . . . . . . 77 
`POINT III—The District Court Properly Precluded
`Expert Testimony that Was Proffered Without
`Adequate Disclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 
`A.  Relevant Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 
`1.  Pretrial Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 
`2.  The Trial Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 
`3.  The Defense’s Expert Notice . . . . . . . . 84 
`4.  The District Court’s
`Preclusion Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 
`B.  Applicable Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 
`C.  Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 
`POINT IV—The District Court Properly Excluded a
`Co-Conspirator’s Hearsay Statement . . . . . . . 96 
`A.  Relevant Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 
`B.  Applicable Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 
`1.  The “Against Interest” Exception . . . . 98 
`2.  The Residual Exception
`and Nested Hearsay . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 
`
`

`
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`
`vi
`
`PAGE
`
`3.  Standard of Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 
`C.  Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 
`POINT V—The Cumulative Error Doctrine
`Does Not Warrant Reversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 
`POINT VI—The District Court Properly Denied
`Ulbricht’s Suppression Motions . . . . . . . . . . . 105 
`A.  Relevant Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 
`1.  The Pen Register and Trap-and-Trace
`Orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 
`2.  The Warrant for Ulbricht’s Laptop . . 107 
`3.  The Warrants for Ulbricht’s Facebook
`and Google Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 
`4.  Ulbricht’s Suppression Motions . . . . 112 
`B.  Applicable Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 
`1.  The Fourth Amendment
`and Particularity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 
`2.  The Good Faith Exception
`to the Exclusionary Rule . . . . . . . . . . 116 
`3.  Severance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 
`4.  The Pen/Trap Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 
`
`

`
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`
`vii
`
`PAGE
`
`5.  Standard of Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 
`C.  Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 
`1.  The Warrants Were Particular . . . . . 121 
`2.  Suppression Would Not Be an
`Appropriate Remedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 
`3.  The Pen/Trap Orders Were Valid . . . 127 
`POINT VII—Ulbricht’s Sentence
`Was Reasonable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 
`A.  Relevant Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 
`1.  The Presentence Report . . . . . . . . . . 130 
`2.  The Overdose Deaths . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 
`3.  The Parties’ Sentencing
`Submissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 
`4.  Ulbricht’s Sentencing . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 
`B.  Applicable Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 
`C.  Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 
`1.  The District Court Did Not Make a
`Procedural Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 
`2.  A Life Sentence Was Justified . . . . . 150 
`CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page9 of 186
`
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`
` PAGE
`
`
`
`Cases: 
`Alvarez v. Ercole,
`763 F.3d 223 (2d Cir. 2014) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
`Amorgianos v. Romano Enters.,
`303 F.3d 256 (2d Cir. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
`Andresen v. Maryland,
`427 U.S. 463 (1976) . . . . . . . . . . 115, 122, 123, 125
`Boucher v. U.S. Suzuki Motor Corp.,
`73 F.3d 18 (2d Cir. 1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
`Bowman Dairy Co. v. United States,
`341 U.S. 214 (1951) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46, 56
`Brady v. Maryland,
`373 U.S. 83 (1963) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30, 33, 43
`Burrage v. United States,
`134 S. Ct. 881 (2014) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
`Canales v. Stephens,
`765 F.3d 551 (5th Cir. 2014) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
`Chambers v. Mississippi,
`410 U.S. 284 (1973) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89, 105
`Coolidge v. New Hampshire,
`403 U.S. 443 (1971) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
`Cotto v. Herbert,
`331 F.3d 217 (2d Cir. 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68, 75
`Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals,
`509 U.S. 579 (1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86, 88, 89
`
`

`
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`
`ix
`
`PAGE
`
`Davis v. United States,
`564 U.S. 229 (2011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
`Delaware v. Van Arsdall,
`475 U.S. 673 (1986) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67, 68
`DiBenedetto v. Hall,
`272 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2001) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68, 69
`Gall v. United States,
`552 U.S. 38 (2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
`Giglio v. United States,
`405 U.S. 150 (1972) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
`Hamling v. United States,
`418 U.S. 87 (1974) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
`Hammond v. Hall,
`586 F.3d 1289 (11th Cir. 2009) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
`Herring v. United States,
`555 U.S. 135 (2009) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
`Howard v. Walker,
`406 F.3d 114 (2d Cir. 2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
`Hutchinson v. Groskin,
`927 F.2d 722 (2d Cir. 1991) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
`Illinois v. Krull,
`480 U.S. 340 (1987) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117, 130
`Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael,
`526 U.S. 137 (1999) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page11 of 186
`
`x
`
`PAGE
`
`Kyles v. Whitley,
`514 U.S. 419 (1995) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44, 75
`Marron v. United States,
`275 U.S. 192 (1927) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
`Moore v. Illinois,
`408 U.S. 786 (1972) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
`Nat’l City Trading Corp. v. United States,
`635 F.2d 1020 (2d Cir. 1980) . . . . . . . . . . 116, 122
`Network Prot. Scis., LLC v. Fortinet, Inc.,
`No. C 12-01106 WHA, 2013 WL 146033
`(N.D. Cal. Jan. 14, 2013) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
`Paroline v. United States,
`134 S. Ct. 1710 (2014) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
`Parsons v. Honeywell, Inc.,
`929 F.2d 901 (2d Cir. 1991) . . . . . . . . . . . . 76, 100
`Pennsylvania v. Ritchie,
`480 U.S. 39 (1987) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
`People of Territory of Guam v. Ignacio,
`10 F.3d 608 (9th Cir. 1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
`Pinkerton v. United States,
`328 U.S. 640 (1946) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
`Rita v. United States,
`551 U.S. 338 (2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141, 153
`Rock v. Arkansas,
`483 U.S. 44 (1987) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page12 of 186
`
`xi
`
`PAGE
`
`Sims v. Blot,
`534 F.3d 117 (2d Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
`Smith v. Maryland,
`442 U.S. 735 (1979) . . . . . . . . . . 113, 119, 128, 129
`Strickler v. Greene,
`527 U.S. 263 (1999) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
`Taylor v. Illinois,
`484 U.S. 400 (1988) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61, 89
`Townsend v. Burke,
`334 U.S. 736 (1948) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
`United States v. Abu-Jihaad,
`630 F.3d 102 (2d Cir. 2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
`United States v. Achiekwelu,
`112 F.3d 747 (4th Cir. 1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
`United States v. Agurs,
`427 U.S. 97 (1976) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52, 53
`United States v. Aiello,
`864 F.2d 257 (2d Cir. 1988) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
`United States v. Al-Moayad,
`545 F.3d 139 (2d Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
`United States v. Amiel,
`95 F.3d 135 (2d Cir. 1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
`United States v. Awadallah,
`436 F.3d 125 (2d Cir. 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page13 of 186
`
`xii
`
`PAGE
`
`United States v. Ayala-Vazquez,
`751 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2014) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
`United States v. Bagley,
`473 U.S. 667 (1985) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44, 55
`United States v. Banks,
`761 F.3d 1163 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
`United States v. Bradley,
`812 F.2d 774 (2d Cir. 1987) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
`United States v. Broxmeyer,
`699 F.3d 265 (2d Cir. 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . 141, 142
`United States v. Buck,
`813 F.2d 588 (2d Cir. 1987) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
`United States v. Cavera,
`550 F.3d 180 (2d Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . passim
`United States v. Chalmers,
`410 F. Supp. 2d 278 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) . . . . . . . . . . 52
`United States v. Check,
`582 F.2d 668 (2d Cir. 1978) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
`United States v. Christie,
`624 F.3d 558 (3d Cir. 2010) . . . . . . . . . . . 120, 128
`United States v. Christine,
`687 F.2d 749 (3d Cir. 1982) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
`United States v. Clark,
`638 F.3d 89 (2d Cir. 2011) . . . . . . . . . . . . 117, 126
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page14 of 186
`
`xiii
`
`PAGE
`
`United States v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc.,
`621 F.3d 1162 (9th Cir. 2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
`United States v. Concessi,
`38 F. App’x 866 (4th Cir. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
`United States v. Cook,
`657 F.2d 730 (5th Cir. 1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
`United States v. Coppa,
`267 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 2001) . . . . . . . 43, 45, 52, 55
`United States v. Cortez-Diaz,
`565 F. App’x 741 (10th Cir. 2014) . . . . . . . . . . . 154
`United States v. Crowley,
`318 F.3d 401 (2d Cir. 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
`United States v. Cruz,
`363 F.3d 187 (2d Cir. 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
`United States v. Cruz,
`981 F.2d 659 (2d Cir. 1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
`United States v. Curry,
`977 F.2d 1042 (7th Cir. 1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
`United States v. Day,
`524 F.3d 1361 (D.C. Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
`United States v. DeVillio,
`983 F.2d 1185 (2d Cir. 1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . passim
`United States v. Devin,
`918 F.2d 280 (1st Cir. 1990) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57, 58
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page15 of 186
`
`xiv
`
`PAGE
`
`United States v. Diallo,
`40 F.3d 32 (2d Cir. 1994) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
`United States v. DiDomenico,
`985 F.2d 1159 (2d Cir. 1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
`United States v. Douglas,
`525 F.3d 225 (2d Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . 44, 46, 57
`United States v. Doyle,
`130 F.3d 523 (2d Cir. 1997) . . . . 99, 100, 101, 102
`United States v. Dwyer,
`539 F.2d 924 (2d Cir. 1976) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
`United States v. Eberhard,
`525 F.3d 175 (2d Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
`United States v. Evanchik,
`413 F.2d 950 (2d Cir. 1969) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
`United States v. Faulkner,
`636 F.3d 1009 (8th Cir. 2011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
`United States v. Fernandez,
`443 F.3d 19 (2d Cir. 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . 142, 156
`United States v. Figueroa,
`548 F.3d 222 (2d Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
`United States v. Forrester,
`512 F.3d 500 (9th Cir. 2008) . . . . . . 119, 120, 128
`United States v. Galpin,
`720 F.3d 436 (2d Cir. 2013) . . . . . . . . . . . . . passim
`
`

`
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`
`xv
`
`PAGE
`
`United States v. Ganias, — F.3d —,
`No. 12-240-cr, 2016 WL 3031285
`(2d Cir. May 27, 2016) . . . . . . . 117, 120, 124, 126
`United States v. Garcia,
`413 F.3d 201 (2d Cir. 2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70, 71
`United States v. George,
`975 F.2d 72 (2d Cir. 1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . passim
`United States v. Ghailani,
`733 F.3d 29 (2d Cir. 2009) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
`United States v. Gil,
`297 F.3d 93 (2d Cir. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
`United States v. Gomez,
`580 F.3d 94 (2d Cir. 2009) . . . . . . . . . . . . 147, 152
`United States v. Gotti,
`42 F. Supp. 2d 252 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) . . . . . . . . . . 116
`United States v. Graham, — F.3d. —,
`Nos. 12-4659, 12-4825, 2016 WL 3068018
`(4th Cir. May 31, 2016) . . . . . . . . . . . 119, 120, 128
`United States v. Grinage,
`390 F.3d 746 (2d Cir. 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
`United States v. Gupta,
`747 F.3d 111 (2d Cir. 2014) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
`United States v. Hoffecker,
`530 F.3d 137 (3d Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92, 94
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page17 of 186
`
`xvi
`
`PAGE
`
`United States v. Holmes,
`670 F.3d 586 (4th Cir. 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
`United States v. Howard,
`454 F.3d 700 (7th Cir. 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
`United States v. Hurtado,
`47 F.3d 577 (2d Cir. 1995) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
`United States v. Jackson,
`345 F.3d 59 (2d Cir. 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
`United States v. Johnson,
`529 F.3d 493 (2d Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
`United States v. Jones,
`460 F.3d 191 (2d Cir. 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . 142, 157
`United States v. Kearney,
`672 F.3d 81 (1st Cir. 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
`United States v. Kulick,
`629 F.3d 165 (3d Cir. 2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
`United States v. Lee,
`818 F.2d 1052 (2d Cir. 1987) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
`United States v. Leon,
`468 U.S. 897 (1984) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117, 126
`United States v. LeRoy,
`687 F.2d 610 (2d Cir. 1982) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
`United States v. Lewis,
`386 F.3d 475 (2d Cir. 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page18 of 186
`
`xvii
`
`PAGE
`
`United States v. Lopez,
`577 F.3d 1053 (9th Cir. 2009) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
`United States v. Lumkin,
`192 F.3d 280 (2d Cir. 1999) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
`United States v. Lundy,
`676 F.3d 444 (5th Cir. 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
`United States v. Maniktala,
`934 F.2d 25 (2d Cir. 1991) . . . . . . . . . . . 42, 52, 56
`United States v. Marquez,
`462 F.2d 893 (2d Cir. 1972) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
`United States v. McBride,
`786 F.2d 45 (2d Cir. 1986) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
`United States v. McCullough,
`523 F. App’x 82 (2d Cir. 2013) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
`United States v. McVeigh,
`153 F.3d 1166 (10th Cir. 1998) . . . . . . . . . . . 69, 74
`United States v. Menghi,
`641 F.2d 72 (2d Cir. 1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
`United States v. Meregildo,
`920 F. Supp. 2d 434 (S.D.N.Y. 2013) . . . . . . . . . . 52
`United States v. Middlemiss,
`217 F.3d 112 (2d Cir. 2000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
`United States v. Millan-Colon,
`836 F. Supp. 1007 (S.D.N.Y. 1993) . . . . . . . . . . . 50
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page19 of 186
`
`xviii
`
`PAGE
`
`United States v. Molina,
`106 F.3d 1118 (2d Cir. 1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
`United States v. Moore,
`968 F.2d 216 (2d Cir. 1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
`United States v. Moskowitz,
`888 F.2d 223 (2d Cir. 1989) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
`United States v. Nicolapolous,
`30 F.3d 381 (2d Cir. 1994) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
`United States v. Nixon,
`418 U.S. 683 (1974) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45, 46
`United States v. O’Connor,
`650 F.3d 839 (2d Cir. 2011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47, 56
`United States v. Onumonu,
`967 F.2d 782 (2d Cir. 1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94, 95
`United States v. Ortiz,
`394 F. App’x 722 (2d Cir. 2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
`United States v. Owen,
`500 F.3d 83 (2d Cir. 2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
`United States v. Pacheco,
`489 F.3d 40 (1st Cir. 2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . 148, 149
`United States v. Paulino,
`445 F.3d 211 (2d Cir. 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
`United States v. Payne,
`63 F.3d 1200 (2d Cir. 1995) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page20 of 186
`
`xix
`
`PAGE
`
`United States v. Petrie,
`302 F.3d 1280 (11th Cir. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
`United States v. Pipola,
`83 F.3d 556 (2d Cir. 1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
`United States v. Pisani,
`773 F.2d 397 (2d Cir. 1985) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
`United States v. Polowichak,
`783 F.2d 410 (4th Cir. 1986) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
`United States v. Pope,
`554 F.3d 240 (2d Cir. 2009) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
`United States v. Pujana-Mena,
`949 F.2d 24 (2d Cir. 1991) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
`United States v. Rea,
`958 F.2d 1206 (1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
`United States v. Regan,
`706 F. Supp. 1102 (S.D.N.Y. 1989) . . . . . . . . . . 116
`United States v. Reingold,
`731 F.3d 204 (2d Cir. 2013) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
`United States v. Reyes,
`18 F.3d 65 (2d Cir. 1994) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
`United States v. Rigas,
`490 F.3d 208 (2d Cir. 2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
`United States v. Rigas,
`583 F.3d 108 (2d Cir. 2009) . . . . . . . . . . . . 46, 143
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page21 of 186
`
`xx
`
`PAGE
`
`United States v. Riggs,
`690 F.2d 298 (1st Cir. 1982) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
`United States v. Riley,
`906 F.2d 841 (2d Cir. 1990) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
`United States v. Rivas,
`377 F.3d 195 (2d Cir. 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
`United States v. Rivera,
`900 F.2d 1462 (10th Cir. 1990) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
`United States v. Rizzo,
`491 F.2d 215 (2d Cir. 1974) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
`United States v. Rodriguez,
`706 F.2d 31 (2d Cir. 1983) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
`United States v. Rodriguez-Rivera,
`473 F.3d 21 (1st Cir. 2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
`United States v. Rosa,
`626 F.3d 56 (2d Cir. 2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . 121, 124
`United States v. Rutledge,
`517 U.S. 292 (1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
`United States v. Saget,
`377 F.3d 223 (2d Cir. 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . 99, 102
`United States v. Salvador,
`820 F.2d 558 (2d Cir. 1987) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
`United States v. Schesso,
`730 F.3d 1040 (9th Cir. 2013) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page22 of 186
`
`xxi
`
`PAGE
`
`United States v. Sessa,
`711 F.3d 316 (2d Cir. 2013) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45, 58
`United States v. Singer, — F.3d —, No. 15-2169,
`2016 WL 3244869 (10th Cir. June 13, 2016) . . 144
`United States v. Spinelli,
`551 F.3d 159 (2d Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
`United States v. Stevens,
`985 F.2d 1175 (2d Cir. 1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
`United States v. Stokes,
`733 F.3d 438 (2d Cir. 2013) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
`United States v. Swackhammer,
`400 F. App’x 615 (2d Cir. 2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
`United States v. Tanner,
`628 F.3d 890 (7th Cir. 2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
`United States v. Thomas,
`62 F.3d 1332 (11th Cir. 1995) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
`United States v. Thomas,
`757 F.2d 1359 (2d Cir. 1985) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
`United States v. Tin Yat Chin,
`476 F.3d 144 (2d Cir. 2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
`United States v. Todisco,
`667 F.2d 255 (2d Cir. 1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
`United States v. Warme,
`572 F.2d 57 (2d Cir. 1978) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page23 of 186
`
`xxii
`
`PAGE
`
`United States v. Watson,
`423 U.S. 411 (1976) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
`United States v. Westry,
`524 F.3d 1198 (11th Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
`United States v. Wexler,
`522 F.3d 194 (2d Cir. 2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88, 98
`United States v. White,
`692 F.3d 235 (2d Cir. 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
`United States v. Wilkerson,
`361 F.3d 717 (2d Cir. 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
`United States v. Williams,
`441 F. App’x 52 (2d Cir. 2011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
`United States v. Williams,
`506 F.3d 151 (2d Cir. 2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
`United States v. Young,
`745 F.2d 733 (2d Cir. 1984) . . . . 88, 114, 115, 123
`United States v. Yousef,
`327 F.3d 56 (2d Cir. 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87, 94
`United States v. Zackson,
`6 F.3d 911 (2d Cir. 1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
`United States v. Zagari,
`111 F.3d 307 (2d Cir.1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
`United States Postal Serv. v. CEC Servs.,
`869 F.2d 184 (2d Cir. 1989) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page24 of 186
`
`xxiii
`
`PAGE
`
`VMWare, Inc. v. Connectix Corp., No. C 02-3705 CW,
`2005 WL 6220090 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 25, 2005) . . . 79
`Wade v. Mantello,
`333 F.3d 51 (2d Cir. 2003) . . . . . . . . 60, 68, 69, 73
`Weatherford v. Bursey,
`429 U.S. 545 (1977) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
`Williamson v. United States,
`512 U.S. 594 (1994) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
`Zuchowicz v. United States,
`140 F.3d 381 (2d Cir. 1998) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
`
`Statutes, Rules & Other Authorities
`U.S. Const. amend. IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
`18 U.S.C. § 2510(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
`18 U.S.C. § 2703 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109, 129
`18 U.S.C. §§ 3121-26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105, 129
`18 U.S.C. § 3122 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
`18 U.S.C. § 3127 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119, 128, 129
`18 U.S.C. § 3500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43, 57
`18 U.S.C. § 3553 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144, 148, 155
`18 U.S.C. § 3661 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
`Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e)(3)(E) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
`Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(1)(E) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36, 42, 55
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page25 of 186
`
`xxiv
`
`PAGE
`
`Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(b)(1)(B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
`Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(b)(1)(C) . . . . . . . . . . 82, 86, 87, 90
`Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(d)(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
`Fed. R. Crim. P. 16 adv. committee’s note . . . . 87, 90
`Fed. R. Crim. P. 17(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
`Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(d)(2)(B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
`Fed. R. Crim. P.33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
`Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
`Fed. R. Evid. 103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
`Fed. R. Evid. 401 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
`Fed. R. Evid. 402 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69, 71
`Fed. R. Evid. 403 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50, 67, 88
`Fed. R. Evid. 611(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66, 80
`Fed. R. Evid. 611(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67, 79, 93
`Fed. R. Evid. 701 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
`Fed. R. Evid. 702 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87, 90
`Fed. R. Evid. 801(c)(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
`Fed. R. Evid. 804(a)(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
`Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77, 98
`Fed. R. Evid. 805 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page26 of 186
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`xxv
`
`PAGE
`
`Fed. R. Evid. 807 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63, 76, 77, 103
`U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
`U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
`U.S.S.G. § 2D1.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
`U.S.S.G. § 2S1.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
`147 Cong. Rec. S11,006-07 (Oct. 25, 2001)
`(statement of Sen. Leahy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
`147 Cong. Rec. H7,197 (Oct. 23, 2001)
`(statement of Rep. Conyers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
`Restatement (Third) of Torts: Phys.
`& Emot. Harm (2010) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
`Charles Alan Wright & Kenneth W. Graham, Jr.,
`Fed. Prac. & Pro. (2d ed. 2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
`Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on Torts (5th ed.
`1984) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
`
`
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page27 of 186
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`
`United States Court of Appeals
`FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
`Docket No. 15-1815
`
`UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
`
`
`
`Appellee,
`
`—v.—
`ROSS WILLIAM ULBRICHT,
`also known as Dread Pirate Roberts, also known as
`Silk Road, also known as Sealed Defendant 1,
`also known as DPR,
`Defendant-Appellant.
`
`
`BRIEF FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
`
`
`
`Preliminary Statement
`Defendant Ross Ulbricht appeals from a judgment
`of conviction entered on June 1, 2015, in the United
`States District Court for the Southern District of New
`York, following an eleven-day jury trial before the
`Honorable Katherine B. Forrest, United States Dis-
`trict Judge.
`Superseding Indictment S1 14 Cr. 68 (KBF) (the
`“Indictment”) was filed on August 21, 2014, charging
`the defendant in seven counts. Count One charged
`Ulbricht with distributing and aiding and abetting
`
`

`
`Case 15-1815, Document 122, 06/17/2016, 1796766, Page28 of 186
`
`2
`
`
`the distribution of narcotics, in violation of Title 21,
`United States Code, Sections 841(a), 841(b)(1)(A) and
`2; Count Two charged him with doing so by means of
`the Internet, in violation of Title 21, United States
`Code, Section 841(h) & 841(b)(1)(A); Count Three
`charged him with conspiring to distribute narcotics,
`in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section
`846; Count Four charged Ulbricht with engaging in a
`continuing criminal enterprise, in violation of Title
`21, United States Code, Section 848; Count Five
`charged him with conspiring to obtain unauthorized
`access to a computer, for purposes of commercial ad-
`vantage and private financial gain and in furtherance
`of other criminal and tortious acts, in violation of Ti-
`tle 18, United States Code, Section 1030(a)(2) &
`1030(b); Count Six charged him with conspiring to
`traffic in fraudulent identification documents, in vio-
`lation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028(f);
`and Count Seven charged him w

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