United States v. Coney, No. 22-1429 (7th Cir. 2023)
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Coney was convicted on multiple charges of sex-trafficking minors, based on “the compelling and memorable testimony of the six minor victims.” Coney did not deny his involvement with these girls, nor did he deny posting prostitution advertisements featuring them on Backpage.com. He argued that, although the evidence made it look as if he had run a prostitution ring, he actually committed only violent robberies, using the girls to lure men to hotel rooms.
While the jury was deliberating, the parties and court realized that a computer containing the evidence for the jury to consider had too many files on it. The court ordered the computer removed from the jury room. Meanwhile, the jury reported that it had reached a verdict. That verdict was never examined by the court but was destroyed. After a weekend break for briefing the issue, a curative instruction, and more deliberation time, the jury returned its verdict of guilty on all counts. In rejecting Coney’s motion for a new trial, the district court carefully considered the inadvertently provided evidence and found no reasonable possibility that it affected the verdict. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, noting the overwhelming evidence of guilt, and the low likelihood that the jurors actually saw the challenged messages and photographs in the mass exhibits improperly provided to them for a few hours.
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