Major CA2 Decision on E&Y Tax Shelter Convictions (11/29/12)

The Second Circuit rendered its decision in the Coplan tax shelter appeal from criminal convictions.  United States v. Coplan, et al., 703 F.3d 46 (2d Cir. 11/29/12). I offer four links to the case:  here is the copy from the Court site, here is a pdf that I have bookmarked (will have to download to see and follow the bookmarks), here is a link to a case service and here is a link to the GPO website.

Interestingly, oral argument was on November 14, 2011, so it took the panel to over a year to publish.

Given the scope of the opinion, I am going to address specific topics from the opinion in separate blog entries, beginning first with the Court's discussion of the Klein conspiracy as a prohibited common law crime, a deficiency that this panel of the the Court of Appeals could not remedy because the "common law" Klein conspiracy -- if indeed it as that -- had been approved and thus mandated for the panel by the Supreme Court and earlier Second Circuit precedent.  Other topics will following in separate blogs.

The subsequent blogs are:

• Coplan #1 - Panel Questions Validity of Klein Conspiracy (12/1/12), here.
• Coplan #2 - The Sufficiency Challenge for the Conspiracy Counts (12/2/12), here.
• Coplan #3 - Venue for False Statements (18 USC 1001) (12/3/12), here.
• Coplan #4 - Court Approves Defraud / Klein Instruction -- Making the IRS Job Harder May Be Enough (12/4/12), here.
• Coplan #5 - Conscious Avoidance / Willful Blindness - Affirmed as to 1; Sidestepped as to 2 (12/4/12), here.
• Coplan # 6 - Court Approves the Economic Substance Instruction (12/5/12), here.
• Coplan #7 - Booker Variance Fixes a Glitch in the Guidelines (5/5/12), here,
• Coplan #8 - Summary (12/5/12), here.