Curt Harrington
Criminal Defense Blog

The Reentry Teachings of U.S. v. Vicente Cuevas-Lopez (9th Cir. 2019)

This case is primarily important because it conforms with 5th circuit law concerning the "Single Sentence Rule." As the case states "The single sentence rule instructs that whether to treat multiple prior sentences as a single sentence depends on ...
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Why Judges Control Electronics Strictly

The case of State of Arizona v. Rojas (Ariz. App. 2019) Case No. 2 CA-CR 2018-0271 illustrates the extreme problems that can be caused when someone starts recording a trial and a jury (with permission or surreptitiously). The Rojas case involved a...
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USA V. RODRIGO LOZANO – Memorandum Opinion Invites Further Analysis

USA V. RODRIGO LOZANO (9th Cir. 2019) 17-50127 This 3-page opinion for a form of tax related fraud charged a violation of 18 U.S. Code §286, rather than the more often seen 18 U.S.C. § 371. The points that the defendant raised on appeal seem...
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Prerequisites for Imposing a Time Payment Fee Were Not Met

STATE OF ARIZONA v. JOSEPH E. DUSTIN, AZ Court of Appeals, CA-CR 18-0399 8-27-2019 A time payment fee in a criminal case cannot be imposed when there was no corresponding penalty, fine, or sanction to trigger a statutory authorization of the ...
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9th Cir. Unpublished Criminal Tax Evasion Case Indicating Full Disclosure as ...

USA V. Walter Prezioso (9th Cir. 2019) Unpublished, No.18-50056. (http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/memoranda/2019/07/25/18-50056.pdf) Full Disclosure was set up in a jury instruction as a prerequisite to a “following in good faith” exception ...
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New 9th Cir. Case With Potential Tax Evasion Effect - Civil Admissions Become...

USA V. JOSEPH SHAYOTA (9th Cir. 2019) (No.17-10270-08/19/2019)(http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2019/08/19/17-10270.pdf) This case answers the question of whether a defendant’s civil record testimony can be introduced in a subs...
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Know & Use the Burden of Proof in the Best Way.

USA V. SAMIR BENAMOR (9th Cir. 2019)(9/5/19)Argument that because firearms manufactured in or before 1898 do not qualify as “firearms” under § 922, the district court erred by refusing to instruct the jury that they had to find that the defendant ...
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How Far Can You Delay Paying Federal Tax Authorities Before Criminal Evasion ...

A series of related cases illustrate the very bad results that can come from fighting the IRS in a non-direct way. We have heard informal rules of thumb regarding tax evasion. One rule of thumb might be that if you actually evade payment o...
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Character (Habit) Evidence Can Show Impulsivity, But Not Simply Evidence Of B...

Arizona Supreme Court: Habit - character can show impulsivity to support crime mental state (mens rea), but evidence of brain injury cannot be used to support that purpose. STATE v. MALONE, SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA No. CR-18-0431-PR F...
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US v. RAYMOND LAMBIS ORDER TO SUPRESS STINGRAY TRACKING (DC SDNY)

Some commentators are implying that this is a case of first impression, and that the Department of Justice is likely to appeal.   http://goo.gl/Hxagxd  From an identification of a telephone number likely from another larger investig...
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