tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post6631643075424847234..comments2023-10-24T08:00:53.865-05:00Comments on Federal Tax Crimes: The Honorable Jed Rakoff on Why Innocent People Plead Guilty (11/3/14)Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-59588752774682356962014-11-10T13:00:25.000-06:002014-11-10T13:00:25.000-06:00I am not familiar with the individuals and have ne...I am not familiar with the individuals and have never had any dealings with UBS. <br />However, it seems a stretch to say that if UBS had 17,000 account holders, that it conspired with all, or even a majority of them. It's likely that the distribution of account balances was typical of any bank, a lot of very small accounts, with very few large ones, and most accounts not used for nefarious purposes.<br />My experience until recently has been that if someone wanted to open an account at a Swiss bank, and if the person had the required identification and minimum balance, the account was opened. I have never been solicited to open a Swiss account or had bankers offer to meet in the US or engage in any other such shenanigans.<br />If someone buys a car, a knife, or a gun in the US, the seller doesn't inquire how it will be used and whether for legal or illegal purposes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-28972856648533406062014-11-10T12:51:30.615-06:002014-11-10T12:51:30.615-06:00I would suggest that part of the reason is the unp...I would suggest that part of the reason is the unpredictability of trial outcome (defendants in similar situations receiving very different outcomes.) The unpredictability also means that lawyers are unwilling to risk representing a client who gets a very bad result and prefer to give the predictable outcome of plea bargain (same reason why lawyers are so careful in recommending optout except in the most clearcut cases.) Then there are the costs which are unpredictable and can be huge if the government puts up a big fight. There are the years of emotional stress between hope and despair, which can be longer than the time spent in jail/prison.<br />One comment on the language in the article: counsel is a "she" and defendant is a "he." I believe it far better to use "he" which is traditionally meant to encompass both sexes in such a context.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-86536816856648428252014-11-07T03:24:20.552-06:002014-11-07T03:24:20.552-06:00I wonder why the prosecutor would continue on this...I wonder why the prosecutor would continue on this case given how weak his evidence was. I'm assuming that the evidence was very weak because the jury verdict was so quick and the fact that the defense didn't think it necessary to even call its witnesses. Was the prosecution lawyer so out of touch with reality or was he just incompetent? <br />When I was in college in the US, a fellow student was arrested and charged with 2 felonies and several misdemeanors. The details of the case are too complicated to go into without making this into a very long comment. Basically, he was innocent but the officer charged him with everything he could think of beyond reason. His lawyer explained this all to the prosecution and they offered a deal. He could plead guilty to one misdemeanor and the rest would be dropped. The only penalty would be a very small fine. His lawyer told him he was almost 100% certain he would win the court case but it would require a $15,000 retainer and the trail would end up costing several 10s of thousands for various reasons. So, he had to make a business decision. Pay a small fine and it was all over.<br />The American legal system seems to have degenerated into a farce. The innocent plead guilty. The guilty get off lightly. The prosecution makes sweetheart deals with criminals to get them to testify in the prosecution's favor. Guys on Wall Street and corporations get away with all sorts of things. The IRS looses emails and has the good fortune to have all relevant computers crash. Everybody lies to Congress and the NSA is illegally spying on everybody in the world including head of states of their supposed allies. On top of that, every time I turn on the television, I see commercials for Judge Judy :)<br />All the Americans that I know seem to be good people. I'm not sure how they allowed their government to get so out of control.<br />AndreAndre Weissnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-70902633533319680772014-11-07T03:16:52.885-06:002014-11-07T03:16:52.885-06:00Thanks for posting this excellent article. It has ...Thanks for posting this excellent article. It has broad implications for our entire society. This calls into question the founding principle that an adversarial system in the courtroom is more likely to bring out the truth. It may work in civil court, but criminal court needs more checks and balances to counteract the prosecutor's huge advantages.F-Townnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-19420038212350557662014-11-04T07:10:24.501-06:002014-11-04T07:10:24.501-06:00big blow and disgrace for DOJ !
Raoul Weil is agai...big blow and disgrace for DOJ !<br />Raoul Weil is again a free man<br /><br /><br /><br />http://www.srf.ch/news/wirtschaft/freispruch-fuer-ex-ubs-banker-weilTrialattorneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-85537490994699042662014-11-04T06:47:43.989-06:002014-11-04T06:47:43.989-06:00Mark Daly and Jason Poole did a very poor job ! L...Mark Daly and Jason Poole did a very poor job ! Liechti was not a credible witness and the real criminal in this case.Badgernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-9076210819181862072014-11-04T04:23:54.461-06:002014-11-04T04:23:54.461-06:00How strong was the case if (according to the Guard...How strong was the case if (according to the Guardian), Weil did not testify and his defence put no witnesses on the stand?gottaloveUStax1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-19286392479373712252014-11-04T02:57:16.440-06:002014-11-04T02:57:16.440-06:00..."the U.S. Justice
Department which spent 6......"the U.S. Justice<br />Department which spent 6 years seeking to prosecute Weil,<br />including extraditing him from Italy last year..." As a US taxpayer I really would like to know how many of my tax dollars were wasted in this failed and overblown effort ! We have according to Caplin and Drysdale annually over 20 million tax cheats at home which imo. deserve more attention.UStaxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519969502186924526.post-44942000880353961312014-11-04T02:22:54.369-06:002014-11-04T02:22:54.369-06:00Big defeat and blow for DOJ ! The jury took only 7...Big defeat and blow for DOJ ! The jury took only 75 minutes to reach its verdict after a 3-week trial that ended abruptly on Monday when Weil's defense team decided not to call any witnesses, saying the government had failed to make its case !!<br /><br /> I hear that Schumacher and Liechti are facing possible trial in CH now to stop this ever happening again that swiss bankers testify against each other in a US court with regards to swiss banking secrecy laws !! <br /> <br />http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/03/swiss-banker-acquitted-tax-evasion-trial-raoul-weil-florida <br />http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/11/03/top-ubs-banker-not-guilty-of-tax-evasion-big-blow-to-offshore-crackdown/GlobalCapitalismnoreply@blogger.com