LUBBOCK, Texas — An appeal by a former Lubbock dentist sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for child pornography was denied by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Court records in Lubbock were updated on Monday.
Jason White, 43, accepted a plea deal in September 2021 and admitted to producing child pornography of a number of victims over a span of several years.
In his appeal, White argued that the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution only authorized the federal government to regulate commercial activity and that an object traveling through different states was not a commercial act.
The statement of facts White signed along with his guilty plea said he produced the child pornography “using materials that had been mailed, shipped or transported in or affecting” commerce between different states or another country.
White agreed with the federal government that his Fifth Circuit appeal should be denied because it went against previous court cases. However, he wanted to preserve the issue for “further review” possibly by the U.S. Supreme Court.
An unopposed motion with the government to deny his appeal said White agreed that “the current state of the law does not unambiguously support” his view.
As of Tuesday, White remained at FCI Marianna, a federal prison in Florida.
