Snipes Acquitted!!!!

A collection of old posts from all forums. No new threads or new posts in old threads allowed. For archive use only.
LPC
Trusted Keeper of the All True FAQ
Posts: 5233
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2003 3:38 am
Location: Earth

Re: Not Guilty???

Post by LPC »

Confused!!! wrote:How can you be not guilty for Tax Evasion, but guilty for willful failure to file??? That makes no sense. I would have thought just the opposite. Can you help me out here?
Snipes was never charged with tax evasion.

He was charged with:

1. One count of a conspiracy to defraud the United States;

2. One count of filing a false claim against the United States (i.e., the refund claim that was filed); and

3. Six counts of willful failure to file tax returns.

The jury found that he was:

1. Not guilty of conspiring to defraud;

2. Not guilty filing a false claime;

3. Not guilty of willfully failing to file income tax returns for 2002 through 2004; and

4. Guilty of willfully failing to file income tax returns for 1999 through 2001.

Nothing about tax evasion.
Dan Evans
Foreman of the Unified Citizens' Grand Jury for Pennsylvania
(And author of the Tax Protester FAQ: evans-legal.com/dan/tpfaq.html)
"Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
silversopp

Post by silversopp »

Was there any real difference in the facts for those years he was acquited, or did the jury just want to give him a lesser sentence so that he could make Blade IV?
.
Pirate Purveyor of the Last Word
Posts: 1698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 2:06 am

Post by . »

I smell a compromise verdict. Probably one hold-out who wanted to acquit Snipes (and maybe the others, too) on everything versus everyone else who wanted to convict across-the-board.
All the States incorporated daughter corporations for transaction of business in the 1960s or so. - Some voice in Van Pelt's head, circa 2006.
User avatar
wserra
Quatloosian Federal Witness
Quatloosian Federal Witness
Posts: 7580
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2003 6:39 pm

Post by wserra »

silversopp wrote:Was there any real difference in the facts for those years he was acquited, or did the jury just want to give him a lesser sentence so that he could make Blade IV?
The defense argued that, once Snipes learned that he was under investigation in or about 2002, he didn't file because he believed that filing accurate returns would incriminate him. This is not a valid defense but, when the issue is "willfulness", a lot of beliefs come in. The jury gave him the benefit of the doubt.
"A wise man proportions belief to the evidence."
- David Hume
Demosthenes
Grand Exalted Keeper of Esoterica
Posts: 5773
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 3:11 pm

Post by Demosthenes »

wserra wrote:The defense argued that, once Snipes learned that he was under investigation in or about 2002, he didn't file because he believed that filing accurate returns would incriminate him. This is not a valid defense but, when the issue is "willfulness", a lot of beliefs come in. The jury gave him the benefit of the doubt.
That's what the jurors are saying in post verdict interviews.

The first two counts were not guilty because they thought Snipes was just a client, not a conspirator, and was simply signing stuff scammers were preparing for him.

They held him accountable for thre first three years of not filing, but gave him the benefit of the doubt for not filing returns after he'd been read his "right to remain silent."
Demo.
darling
First Mate
First Mate
Posts: 133
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:35 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Post by darling »

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22978727/


The recent acquittal of actor Wesley Snipes on tax fraud charges is being taken as a victory by a vocal band of tax “protesters” who have assembled all manner of arguments that income taxes are illegal...

The breadth and depth of delusional nonsense ... is simply too vast to cover in this column...

In the end, Snipes was convicted of not paying his fair share, ordered to cough up $17 millions in back taxes, and still faces three years in jail. Some “victory.”...

Not so fast, say the tax nut jobs...


etc. etc.
Demosthenes
Grand Exalted Keeper of Esoterica
Posts: 5773
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 3:11 pm

Post by Demosthenes »

lawdevil wrote:Why is the NY Times calling them tax resisters? They are tax protestors!!!!
You're obsessing, lawdevil.
Demo.
Demosthenes
Grand Exalted Keeper of Esoterica
Posts: 5773
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 3:11 pm

Post by Demosthenes »

Even though the defense put on no show, their exhibit list has hit the docket.

Irwin Schiff, Joe Banister, Bob Schulz, Eddie Kahn, John Turner, Bryan Malatesta, Milton Baxley, Lynne Meredith, Aaron Russo, Douglas Rosile

It's like a Who's Who of the Tax Protest Movement.

http://www.thesnipestrial.com/snipes415.pdf
Demo.
ASITStands
17th Viscount du Voolooh
Posts: 1088
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 5:15 pm

Post by ASITStands »

Demosthenes wrote:Even though the defense put on no show, their exhibit list has hit the docket.

Irwin Schiff, Joe Banister, Bob Schulz, Eddie Kahn, John Turner, Bryan Malatesta, Milton Baxley, Lynne Meredith, Aaron Russo, Douglas Rosile

It's like a Who's Who of the Tax Protest Movement.

http://www.thesnipestrial.com/snipes415.pdf
It would be interesting to see how they would have called Aaron Russo.

Is that sort of like not knowing Ray Pope's current status?
Last edited by ASITStands on Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Demosthenes
Grand Exalted Keeper of Esoterica
Posts: 5773
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 3:11 pm

Post by Demosthenes »

CaptainKickback wrote:And how many of those on the list have done federal time?
Schiff, Kahn, Baxley, Meredith.

In the near future, Rosile.
Demo.
Dezcad
Khedive Ismail Quatoosia
Posts: 1209
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:19 pm

Post by Dezcad »

Demosthenes wrote:Even though the defense put on no show, their exhibit list has hit the docket.

Irwin Schiff, Joe Banister, Bob Schulz, Eddie Kahn, John Turner, Bryan Malatesta, Milton Baxley, Lynne Meredith, Aaron Russo, Douglas Rosile

It's like a Who's Who of the Tax Protest Movement.

http://www.thesnipestrial.com/snipes415.pdf
They were going to introduce those people as "exhibits"?

Had they been stamped with Bates numbers?

:wink:
Famspear
Knight Templar of the Sacred Tax
Posts: 7668
Joined: Sat May 19, 2007 12:59 pm
Location: Texas

Post by Famspear »

ASITStands wrote:
It would be interesting to see how they would have called Aaron Russo.
Well, you could call Aaron Russo.

But it would be llllloooonnnnnnnngggg distance, and the connection would probably be pretty bad.

OK, I'll go to my room now.
"My greatest fear is that the audience will beat me to the punch line." -- David Mamet
Doktor Avalanche
Asst Secretary, the Dept of Jesters
Posts: 1767
Joined: Thu May 03, 2007 10:20 pm
Location: Yuba City, CA

Post by Doktor Avalanche »

Famspear wrote:ASITStands wrote:
It would be interesting to see how they would have called Aaron Russo.
Well, you could call Aaron Russo.

But it would be llllloooonnnnnnnngggg distance, and the connection would probably be pretty bad.

OK, I'll go to my room now.
I think I still have my Ouija board up in the attic.

Image
The laissez-faire argument relies on the same tacit appeal to perfection as does communism. - George Soros
Famspear
Knight Templar of the Sacred Tax
Posts: 7668
Joined: Sat May 19, 2007 12:59 pm
Location: Texas

Post by Famspear »

Sentencing for Snipes set for April 24, 2008:

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local ... a0d5f5d564
"My greatest fear is that the audience will beat me to the punch line." -- David Mamet
ASITStands
17th Viscount du Voolooh
Posts: 1088
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 5:15 pm

Post by ASITStands »

Big laughs out of 'Famspear' and 'Doktor Avalanche!'

And, after a long, trying day, I appreciate it. Thanks, guys.
Famspear
Knight Templar of the Sacred Tax
Posts: 7668
Joined: Sat May 19, 2007 12:59 pm
Location: Texas

Post by Famspear »

Here's some commentary by law professor Neil H. Buchanan on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008:
A Conviction is a Conviction, and Wesley Snipes was Convicted

On Feb. 3, I posted some comments about the Wesley Snipes tax evasion trial, noting that media reports that Snipes had "won" were partly true (in that he was acquitted on 2 felony counts and 3 misdemeanor counts) but also partly false (in that he was convicted on 3 misdemeanor counts). Saying only that he had won, therefore, is utterly misleading.

I further argued that, while Snipes could rightly celebrate a reduction in his possible prison time, it was absurd to think that he had somehow beaten the system, because even if he were to end up serving no prison time at all (which is highly unlikely), his tax protest will end up costing him millions of dollars and will give him a permanent criminal record.

That the media have mischaracterized the outcome of the case was brought home to me later on Feb. 3, when a student came up to me and said, "So I hear that Snipes got off." If that is the message that even law students are getting from their news sources, it's no wonder tax deniers find it easy to recruit new victims.

Spread the word! Snipes was convicted, and he will be millions of dollars poorer because of his foolish decision to press a frivolous position. Respect for the rule of law is undermined when people wrongly believe that illegal behavior has gone unpunished.

I'll post some thoughts tomorrow morning on the (lack of) substance of a particular frivolous tax argument; but I felt compelled to make this much more fundamental call for clarity and sanity today.
http://michaeldorf.org/2008/02/convicti ... esley.html

Neil H. Buchanan, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., J.D., is Associate Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School.
"My greatest fear is that the audience will beat me to the punch line." -- David Mamet
Nikki

Post by Nikki »

What else would you expect from someone who has sold his soul to the BAR, is intimidated by the IRS, and is part of the conspiracy to pound these lies into the heads of people trying to study law?

We now return you to your regularly scheduled, non sovereign, sane discussion.
Demosthenes
Grand Exalted Keeper of Esoterica
Posts: 5773
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 3:11 pm

Post by Demosthenes »

Entertaining interview of Bernhoft on his Snipes victory:

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlla/
Demo.
Dezcad
Khedive Ismail Quatoosia
Posts: 1209
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 4:19 pm

Post by Dezcad »

Bernhoft wrote:Some of this stuff is absolutely surreal, even in a surreal world, and you have to step back and ask yourself, "What's going on here?"
Was he referring to this?

Image
Doktor Avalanche
Asst Secretary, the Dept of Jesters
Posts: 1767
Joined: Thu May 03, 2007 10:20 pm
Location: Yuba City, CA

Post by Doktor Avalanche »

CaptainKickback wrote:Snipes does have nice penmanship.
Almost as nice as this guy's:

Image
The laissez-faire argument relies on the same tacit appeal to perfection as does communism. - George Soros