United States v. McCaskill case brief

United States v. McCaskill case brief summary
202 Fed.Appx. 70 (2006)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Defendant was convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud, and possession of forged securities. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan sentenced defendant to 188 months of imprisonment. Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence.

CASE FACTS
The victim sought private, unconventional financing to build a mill in North Dakota to grind organic grains into flour. Defendant, along with others, operated a scam in which they took $ 35,000 from the victim.

DISCUSSION

• The appellate court found that the prosecutor's isolated remark about defendant being "put under oath" was made in response to defendant's repeated attempt to argue facts to the jury that were not introduced into evidence at trial. 
• Another witness' testimony was admitted for a proper purpose--either as Fed. R. Evid. 404(b) evidence used to establish defendant's intent to commit the crimes charged or as non-Rule 404(b) evidence that was inextricably intertwined with, or provided background evidence of, the crimes charged. 
• Because defendant did not object to the pre-sentence report, the judicially-found facts did not result in a sentence that was beyond the statutory maximum; did not result in a sentence violative of defendant's Sixth Amendment rights; and did not result in a violation of defendant's ex post facto-type due process rights.

CONCLUSION
Defendant's conviction and sentence were affirmed.


Recommended Supplements for Criminal Law