In U.S. v. Dean, No. 06-13946 (May 25, 2007), the Court affirmed the conviction and sentence of a tax protester defendant convicted of tax evasion.
The Court rejected the argument that the district court abused its discretion when it denied Dean’s motion challenging the district’s failure to comply with the grand and/or petit jury selection procedures of 28 U.S.C. § 1867(a). The Court agreed with the district court that the motion was untimely.
The Court also rejected the defendant’s challenge to the district court’s jury instructions on his "good faith" defense, finding that, even when coupled with a "willful blindness" instruction, they complied with Cheek v. U.S, 498 U.S. 192 (1991).
The Court also rejected a reasonableness challenge to Dean’s sentence, finding that the 84 month sentence was reasonable in light of the statutory maximum of 60 months for his tax evasion convictions and the 24 months maximum for his related convictions on other counts.
