Sunday, December 22, 2013

Beckwith v. United States case brief

Beckwith v. United States case brief summary
425 U.S. 341 (1976)

CASE SYNOPSIS
Petitioner, convicted of attempted federal income tax evasion, sought a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which affirmed the denial of his motion to suppress statements he made in a non-custodial interview with Internal Revenue Service special agents on the ground that the agents had not given him his full Miranda warnings.

CASE FACTS
Petitioner was interviewed in a private home by two special agents of the Internal Revenue Service who advised him that one of their functions was to investigate the possibility of criminal tax fraud and that they were assigned to investigate his federal income tax liability for prior years. The senior agent read to petitioner from a printed card advising him of his right against self-incrimination under U.S. Constitutional Amendment V, his right to counsel, and the fact that anything he said could be used against him. Prior to his trial for attempted federal income tax evasion, petitioner filed a motion to suppress all statements he made to the agents or evidence derived from those statements on the ground that he had not been given his full Miranda warnings. The district court denied the motion, petitioner was convicted, and the court of appeals affirmed the judgment of conviction.

DISCUSSION
On certiorari, the court affirmed, holding that a special agent of the Internal Revenue Service was not required to give Miranda warnings in an interview with a taxpayer who was not in custody, and that petitioner's statements were thus admissible against him.

CONCLUSION
The court affirmed petitioner's conviction for federal tax evasion, holding that a special agent of the Internal Revenue Service was not required to give Miranda warnings in an interview with a taxpayer who was not in custody, and that petitioner's statements were thus admissible against him.


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