Conviction Supported by Files in Internet Cache

The fact that child pornography is located in a computer’s temporary internet cache—where some files are automatically downloaded when a user visits a website—does not mean it cannot sustain a conviction for knowing possession of the illegal files, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit made clear April 25. (United States v. Winkler)

State and federal courts have recognized the need to distinguish between files that a computer automatically downloads into an internet cache and files that a defendant intentionally downloads. Some have even overturned pornography convictions on the ground that there was insufficient evidence that ...