United States v. Brown case brief (Florida)

United States v. Brown case brief summary
548 F.2d 1194 (5th Cir. 1977)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Defendant appealed his conviction of counseling, procuring, and advising in the preparation and presentation of fraudulent and false income tax returns for others in violation of 26 U.S.C.S. § 7206(2) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

CASE FACTS
Defendant appealed his conviction of assisting others in the preparation of fraudulent tax returns, contending that the trial court's admission of testimony that 90-95% of the tax returns he prepared were fraudulent was prejudicial and improperly presented for the jury's consideration.

DISCUSSION

• In reversing the judgment and remanding the matter for a new trial, the court found that the testimony's admission, in the absence of direct proof of the tax returns' alleged overstatements, violated Fed. R. Evid. 404(b), which precluded evidence of similar crimes; Fed. R. Evid. 403(b), which precluded evidence that was more prejudicial than probative, and Fed. R. Evid. 801, which precluded hearsay. 
• Because the trial judge committed plain error in improperly admitting evidence that was highly prejudicial to the defendant, the judgment was reversed and the matter remanded for new trial.

CONCLUSION
The defendant's conviction was reversed and the matter remanded for new trial as the trial court committed plain error by improperly admitting evidence that was highly prejudicial to the defendant, including hearsay evidence and evidence of other purported crimes.


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