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Case 22-1426, Document “Tactso | 3475900, Page154 of 208
| A-150 |
Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 207 Filed 04/16/21 Page 13 of 34
Based on the statute’s text, context, and history, the Court follows Weingarten and
concludes that the appropriate inquiry is whether the charged offenses involved the sexual abuse
of a minor on the facts alleged in this case. There is no question that they did. The Court thus
concludes that § 3283 governs the limitations period for the charges here.
2. The 2003 amendment to the statute of limitations applies to these offenses
Maxwell next contends that because the charged conduct took place before the
PROTECT Act’s enactment, that statute did not lengthen the statute of limitations applicable to
her alleged offenses. Here too, the Second Circuit has provided guidance in its decision in
Weingarten. Although the court did not provide a definitive answer there, it explained that the
view Maxwell now takes conflicts with established principles of retroactivity and the decisions
of at least two other circuit courts. Weingarten, 865 F.3d at 58 & n.8; see Cruz v. Maypa, 773
F.3d 138, 145 (4th Cir. 2014); United States v. Leo Sure Chief, 438 F.3d 920, 924 (9th Cir.
2006).
The Supreme Court has set out a two-step framework to determine whether a federal
statute applies to past conduct. See Landgrafv. UST Film Products, 511 U.S. 244, 280 (1994).
Courts look first to the language of the statute. If the statute states that it applies to past conduct,
courts must so apply it. Weingarten, 865 F.3d at 54. Otherwise, the statute applies to past
conduct unless doing so would create impermissible retroactive effects. Jd.
The Court begins with Landgraf’s first step. To assess a statute’s meaning here, courts
must consider the text of the statute along with other indicia of congressional intent, including
the statute’s history and structure. See Enter. Mortg. Acceptance Co., LLC, Sec. Litig. v. Enter.
Mortg. Acceptance Co., 391 F.3d 401, 406 (2d Cir. 2004).
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00020772.jpg |
| File Size | 610.1 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.2% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,031 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 20:03:15.117308 |