## Facts

- David Michael Craig pleaded guilty in federal court to four counts of producing child pornography.
- Craig had no prior convictions.
- Craig’s conduct involved sexually abusing a minor girl who was a friend of his daughters and sometimes stayed overnight at his home.
- The abuse began when the victim was 11 years old and continued until she was 14.
- Craig photographed the assaults and also compelled the victim to take sexually explicit photographs of herself, including by threatening to kill her if she did not comply.
- Each production count carried a statutory maximum of 30 years’ imprisonment, for a combined statutory maximum of 120 years.
- The advisory Sentencing Guidelines called for a life sentence, but the statutory maximum for any single count prevented a life term on one count alone.
- The district court imposed 30 years on one count and 20 years on each of the other three counts; the three 20-year terms ran concurrently with each other but consecutively to the 30-year term, producing a total sentence of 50 years.
- Craig appealed his sentence. Appointed appellate counsel filed an Anders brief and moved to withdraw, stating there were no non-frivolous issues for appeal.

## Issues

1. Whether any non-frivolous appellate issue existed, given Craig’s guilty plea and the district court’s 50-year sentence structured through consecutive terms to approximate the Guidelines’ recommended total punishment.
2. Whether the district court lawfully and reasonably imposed consecutive sentences (within statutory caps) to reach a total term consistent with the Guidelines and the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
3. Whether counsel should be permitted to withdraw under Anders v. California because the appeal was frivolous.

## Decision

- The Seventh Circuit (per curiam) granted counsel’s motion to withdraw under Anders.
- The court dismissed Craig’s appeal as frivolous, leaving the 50-year sentence in place.
- The court concluded that no arguable challenge existed to the sentence’s legality or reasonableness where the district court used consecutive terms to reach a combined punishment consistent with the Guidelines’ “total punishment” concept and remained below the aggregate statutory maximum.
- The court found no non-frivolous claim of procedural error or substantive unreasonableness, especially in light of the repeated sexual abuse of a young child, the creation of pornographic images, and the coercive threats involved.
- Judge Posner filed a concurrence.

## Legal Principles

- Under Anders v. California, appointed counsel may withdraw if, after a conscientious review, counsel concludes the appeal is frivolous; the court independently reviews the record to confirm no non-frivolous issues exist.
- A district court may impose consecutive sentences on multiple counts under 18 U.S.C. § 3584 to reach an appropriate total term, including when the advisory Guidelines recommend a sentence higher than the statutory maximum on any single count.
- The Sentencing Guidelines permit consecutive sentences when necessary to produce a combined sentence equal to the Guidelines’ total punishment (commonly applied through U.S.S.G. § 5G1.2(d) in multi-count cases).
- A sentence that stays within statutory limits and is justified by the § 3553(a) factors—such as seriousness of the offense, deterrence, and protection of the public—will generally withstand a reasonableness challenge on appeal.
- In an Anders disposition, if potential arguments about sentencing legality, Guidelines application, and reasonableness would be futile, dismissal of the appeal is proper.

## Conclusion

United States v. Craig held that no non-frivolous basis existed to challenge a 50-year sentence for producing child pornography where the district court, constrained by 30-year statutory caps per count, used consecutive terms to reach a combined sentence consistent with the Guidelines’ recommended total punishment and supported by the § 3553(a) factors; the Seventh Circuit therefore granted counsel’s Anders motion to withdraw and dismissed the appeal as frivolous.


United States v. Craig, 703 F.3d 1001 (2012)