United States Third Circuit

District court's conviction of defendants for conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Protection Act (AEPA), 18 U.S.C. section 43 (2002) and other crimes, arising from animal rights activists' claims of animal abuse committed by a research corporation located in the United Kingdom, is affirmed where: 1) defendants' convictions for conspiracy to violate the AEPA is affirmed as the AEPA is neither unconstitutional on its face nor unconstitutional as applied; 2) there was sufficient evidence to convict defendants on all charges involving interstate stalking, and 3) the judgment of the district court is affirmed in all other respects as there were no flaws in the jury instructions. Finally, the case is remanded as the district court erred when it failed to devise a payment schedule for the $1,000,001 in restitution.

Appellate Information

• Argued 01/06/2009
• Decided 10/14/2009
• Published 10/14/2009

Judges

• Before:  FUENTES and FISHER, Circuit Judges and DITTER, District Judge.

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• H. Louis Sirkin (Argued), Sirkin Pinales & Schwartz LLP, Cincinnati, OH, for Appellant Lauren Gazzola., Robert G. Stahl (Argued), Laura K. Gasiorowski, Stahl Farella & Sarokin, Westfield, NJ, for Appellant Kevin Kjonaas., Peter Goldberger (Argued), Ardmore, PA, for Appellant Joshua Harper., Robert A. Obler, Lawrenceville, NJ, for Appellant Darius Fullmer., Paul J. Hetznecker, Philadelphia, PA, for Appellant Andrew Stepanian., Andrew F. Erba, II, Williams, Cuker, & Berezofsky, Philadelphia, PA, for Appellant Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA, Inc., Hal K. Haveson, Haveson & Otis, Princeton, NJ, for Appellant Jacob Conroy., Matthew Strugar, Esq., Center for Constitutional Rights, National Lawyers Guild, First Amendment Lawyers Association, New York, NY, Amici Curiae-Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Glenn J. Moramarco (Argued), George S. Leone, Assistant United States Attorney, Camden Federal Building & Courthouse, Camden, NJ, for Appellee.