8th Circuit Holds that Marinello Nexus to Administrative Proceeding Need Not Separately Pled in Indictment (5/5/21)

In United States v. Prelogar, ___ F.3d ___, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 12899 (8th Cir. 4/30/21), here, the Eighth Circuit addressed whether indictment must contain the Marinello nuance of the tax obstruction crime (§ 7212(a)) to require a nexus between a particular administrative proceeding and the defendant’s conduct must be included in the indictment.  See Marinello v. United States, 584 U.S. ___,138 S.Ct. 1101 (2018).  The Eighth Circuit held that the nexus need not be pleaded in the indictment, so that proof at trial will suffice for conviction.

The Court’s reasoning (Slip Op. 6-7):

            While Marinello identified what the government must “show” to “secure a conviction” under section 7212(a), see 138 S.Ct. at 1109, neither Marinello nor Beckham addressed whether the nexus and knowledge requirements must be charged in the indictment, nor did those decisions invite scrutiny of the elements charged. Marinello greatly relied on Aguilar, which proclaimed a “nexus” requirement for a similar omnibus clause under 18 U.S.C. § 1503(a) that prohibits endeavoring to obstruct the due administration of justice. 515 U.S. at 600. Like Marinello, the Aguilar opinion is silent on whether the nexus requirement must be included in the charging document. While our court has not decided this question subsequent to Aguilar, federal courts that have addressed the issue have found the nexus requirement is not required to be alleged in the indictment because it is “implicit.” See, e.g., United States v. Collis, 128 F.3d 313, 317–18 (6th Cir. 1997); see also United States v. Sussman, 709 F.3d 155, 177 (3d Cir. 2013) (citing to Collis, 128 F.3d at 318 for principle that the nexus requirement is not a fourth element and instead can be addressed in jury instructions).

            This interpretation is consistent with other Supreme Court decisions that have clarified statutory elements in conjunction the government’s proof obligations. For example, in Rehaif v. United States, 588 U.S. ___, 139 S.Ct. 2191, 2200 (2019), the Supreme Court concluded that the government must prove, among other things, that a defendant had knowledge of his status as a prohibited person in felon-in-possession cases. After Rehaif, we found no error where the indictment charged a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(A) but failed to allege the defendant had knowledge of his status because the indictment tracked the statutory language. United States v. Jawher, 950 F.3d 576, 579 n.2 (8th Cir. 2020). Similarly, in Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646, 657 (2009), the Supreme Court held that in aggravated identity theft cases the government must prove the defendant had knowledge that the means of identification he unlawfully transferred, possessed, or used belonged to another person. We later upheld as sufficient an indictment that charged aggravated identity theft because, although the indictment did not plead knowledge as explained in Flores-Figueroa, it tracked the language of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1). United States v. Dvorak, 617 F.3d 1017, 1026–27 (8th Cir. 2010).

            Count Two charged Prelogar with “corruptly endeavor[ing] to obstruct and impede the due administration” of the tax laws, by committing certain specified acts, in violation of § 7212(a). The indictment “tracks the language of the statute” and “fairly informs the defendant of the charges against him.” See Sewell, 513 F.3d at 821–22. We conclude that Marinello clarifies what must be proven to sustain a conviction under § 7212(a) but does not require that nexus and knowledge be charged in the indictment. The district court did not err in denying Prelogar’s motion to dismiss Count Two.