UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA 

HAMMOND DIVISION 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ) 

 ) CAUSE NO. 2:16 CR 00160 

 v. ) 

 ) Hon. Matthew F. Kennelly 

JAMES E. SNYDER ) 

GOVERNMENT’S MOTION FOR HEARING 

AND DISCOVERY ON DEFENDANT’S ASSERTION 

OF ADVICE OF COUNSEL DEFENSE 

The government is mindful that the deadline for filing pre-trial motions 

passed on February 8, 2021. However, on March 1, 2021, Defendant informed 

the government that he intends to introduce at trial evidence of advice of 

counsel. The notice provided to the government names two attorneys 

specifically on whose advice Defendant relied. 

The first is then-City Attorney for Portage, Indiana Gregg Sobkowski. 

According to Defendant, Mr. Sobkowski “was involved in overseeing the bid 

process to ensure compliance with Indiana law” and “advised multiple City 

officials” in that capacity. As to whether written communications exist between 

Mr. Sobkowski and Defendant, he notes that the government has “many of 

those emails.” 

Defendant’s notice also names current Seventh Circuit Judge Thomas L. 

Kirsch, II, who from July 21, 2014 to October 4, 2017, represented Defendant 

in this criminal investigation and prosecution. According to the notice: 

USDC IN/ND case 2:16-cr-00160-MFK document 471 filed 03/02/21 page 1 of 4
2 

“Without knowing what topics [the government] intend[s] to raise on retrial” 

Defendant is “unable to tell [the government] what precise topics [he] would be 

raising the [advice of counsel] defense to rebut.” However, “as a measure of 

goodwill,” Defendant informs the government that he has conferred with Judge 

Kirsch, who “concurs that an advice of counsel defense is applicable and 

appropriate in this matter” as to “the interpretation of the language of the City 

of Portage, Indiana statement of economic interest forms, and whether Mr. 

Snyder had any legal obligation to fill out and submit” said form. As to this 

specific category of anticipated testimony, Defendant says that none of the 

emails collected by the government via search warrant which were filtered out 

as privileged by a government filter team contain communications between Mr. 

Snyder and Judge Kirsch on that topic. 

The government believes it is entitled to discovery of all written 

communications between Defendant and the above-referenced attorneys 

regarding any topic on which the Defendant will suggest or assert at trial that 

he received and relied upon advice of counsel. Defendant’s notice references 

certain written communications but does not foreclose the possibility that 

others exist. Further, because Defendant refuses to identify the specific topics 

Judge Kirsch may have advised him on which he may reference during trial, 

the government is unable to determine the scope of Defendant’s waiver of the 

attorney-client privilege. 

USDC IN/ND case 2:16-cr-00160-MFK document 471 filed 03/02/21 page 2 of 4
3 

WHEREFORE the government respectfully requests that the Court take 

up this matter at the upcoming Final Pretrial Conference and require 

Defendant to state with greater particularity the topics on which he may 

introduce evidence of his reliance on the advice of counsel, and to ensure that 

the government is given a full and fair opportunity to obtain discovery of the 

formerly-privileged communications falling within the scope of Defendant’s 

waiver. 

DATED: March 2, 2021 

Respectfully submitted. 

MONTY WILKINSON 

 ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL 

 

JOHN R. LAUSCH, JR. 

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

 

By: /s/ Jill R. Koster 

 JILL R. KOSTER 

 Assistant U.S. Attorney 

 5400 Federal Plaza, Suite 1500 

 Hammond, Indiana 46320 

 (219) 937-5500 

By: /s/ Ankur Srivastava 

 ANKUR SRIVASTAVA 

 Special Attorney to the Attorney General1 

 219 S. Dearborn Street, 5th Floor 

Chicago, IL 60604 

 (312) 353-5300 

1 Acting under authority conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515. 

USDC IN/ND case 2:16-cr-00160-MFK document 471 filed 03/02/21 page 3 of 4
4 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

 I hereby certify that on March 2, 2021, I electronically filed the foregoing 

with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, which sent notification 

of such filing to counsel of record. 

 /s/ Jill R. Koster 

 JILL R. KOSTER 

 Assistant U.S. Attorney 

 U.S. Attorney's Office 

 5400 Federal Plaza, Suite 1500 

 Hammond, Indiana 46320 

 (219) 937-5500 

 (219) 937-5500 

USDC IN/ND case 2:16-cr-00160-MFK document 471 filed 03/02/21 page 4 of 4