Jacobson v. United States
Citation: 503 U.S. 540 (1992)
Facts
Keith Jacobson ordered a legal magazine containing nude photos of minors before Congress criminalized such material. Over a 26-month period, government agents sent him solicitations through five fictitious organizations and a pen pal, repeatedly encouraging him to order child pornography. He eventually ordered it and was convicted under the Child Protection Act.
Issue
Did the government’s extensive solicitation campaign constitute entrapment as a matter of law?
Holding
Yes. The government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jacobson was predisposed to commit the crime before the government’s persuasion campaign began. The government may not originate the criminal design and then claim the defendant was predisposed.
Rule
Entrapment (subjective test): The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was predisposed to commit the crime before the government’s inducement began. The government may not implant criminal intent in the mind of an innocent person and then prosecute them for it.
Significance
- Limits the government’s ability to conduct long-term sting operations that may manufacture criminality rather than reveal pre-existing intent
- Requires that predisposition be shown to predate the government’s inducement, not merely to exist at the moment of the offense
- Widely cited for the proposition that the government “may not originate a criminal design”
- Applied the federal subjective entrapment test; most states also recognize the defense