U.S. v. Faris, 583 F.3d 756 (11th Cir. September 23, 2009)
The defendant appealed his conviction for using a facility of interstate commerce to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and his 292-month sentence, arguing that 18 U.S.C. Section 2242(b), which prohibits using any means of interstate commerce to entice, or coerce a minor to engage in “any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense,” violates both the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution. The defendant contended that his internet connections, telephone calls, emails, and travel routes were confined within Florida state lines and did not affect interstate commerce.
The Eleventh Circuit dismissed this argument as “meritless” stating that “Congress has the power to regulate the internet” which is “an instrumentality of interstate commerce.” Further, the defendant argued that since the Tenth Amendment delegates to the states responsibility to regulate wholly intrastate activity, it is not necessary and proper for Congress to do so. The district court also applied a two-level enhancement for “undue influence,” which the defendant challenged, but the appellate court affirmed, because the defendant utilized his knowledge of the internet and computers to make contact with another whom he believed would supply minors for sex.
