Jacobson v. United States

Summary

The Court held that, where government inducement is established and entrapment is at issue, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was predisposed to commit the crime before government agents first approached him. It reversed Jacobson's conviction because his earlier lawful purchases, generalized sexual interests, and eventual orders following 26 months of government communications did not establish predisposition independent of the Government's efforts. Justice O'Connor dissented, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice Kennedy, and by Justice Scalia except as to Part II. She argued that Jacobson's enthusiastic responses permitted the jury to find predisposition and that the Court improperly extended the relevant inquiry to preliminary government contacts. In Part II, she additionally argued that the Court effectively required proof of a disposition knowingly to violate the law.