Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-91-02184/USCOURTS-ca10-91-02184-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Charles Heizer
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

AUG 3 f 1992 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellee, 

v. 

CHARLES HEIZER, 

Defendant-Appellant. 

ROBERT L. HOECKEE 

) Clerk 

) 

) 

) 

) No. 91-2184 

) (D.C. No. CR-90-461 SC) 

) (District of New Mexico) 

) 

) 

. ORDER AND JUDGMENT! 

Before McKAY, Chief Judge, MOORE, Circuit Judge, and EISELE,2 

Senior District Judge. 

Appellant appeals his conviction by a jury in the district 

court of three counts of willful failure to file an income tax 

return, in violation of 26 u.s.c. S 7203, and two counts of 

attempt to evade or defeat a tax, in violation of 26 u.s.c. S 

7201. The three issues presented for appellate review are 1) 

whether the trial court committed reversible error when it 

instructed the jury that defendant had no Fifth Amendment right to 

1 This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall 

not be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, 

except for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of 

the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 

36.3. 

2 Honorable G. Thomas Eisele, United States Senior District 

Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas, sitting by designation. 

Appellate Case: 91-2184 Document: 010110307936 Date Filed: 08/31/1992 Page: 1
refuse to file his income tax return; 2) whether the trial court 

committed reversible error when it failed to explicitly inform the 

jury that failing to file an income tax return does not satisfy 

the affirmative act element of a 26 u.s.c. § 7201 violation; and 

3) whether the trial court committed reversible error when it 

questioned defendant about his good faith beliefs, restricted 

defendant's testimony regarding his good faith defense, and 

instructed the jury on that defense . 

After thoroughly reviewing the record and briefs and hearing 

oral arguments on these issues, we hold that the district court 

did not commit reversible error as alleged by appellant . We 

therefore AFFIRM defendant's convictions on all counts. 

-2-

Entered for the Court 

Monroe G. McKay 

Chief Circuit Judge 

Appellate Case: 91-2184 Document: 010110307936 Date Filed: 08/31/1992 Page: 2