Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Mohamad Ruhul AMIN, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2009-06-22
Citations: 339 F. App'x 695
Docket Number: No. 08-10341
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Mohamad Ruhul AMIN, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before: KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, BYBEE and CALLAHAN, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 339
Pages: 695–696

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Mohamad Ruhul AMIN, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 08-10341.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Argued and Submitted May 12, 2009.
Filed June 22, 2009.
Eric S. O’Malley, Esquire, Assistant U.S., Kirk Schuler, Assistant U.S., Office of the U.S. Attorney, Saipan, MP, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Colin Murphy Thompson, Esquire, Thompson Law Office, LLC, Saipan, MP, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before: KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, BYBEE and CALLAHAN, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM
Under federal law, it is a false statement to claim to be married if the marriage is fraudulent, even if the marriage is otherwise valid under state or foreign law. Lutwak v. United States, 344 U.S. 604, 73 S.Ct. 481, 97 L.Ed. 593 (1953); see also United States v. Camper, 384 F.3d 1073, 1076 (9th Cir.2004) (a defendant has committed perjury if the "defendant understood [an ambiguous] question as the government did and, so understanding, answered falsely"). Lutwak's holding is not limited to federal immigration offenses; the defendants in Lutwak were convicted of making false statements and conspiring to defraud the United States. 344 U.S. at 607, 73 S.Ct. 481.
There was ample evidence that Amin's marriage to Rose Reyes, even assuming it was not void under the laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, was fraudulent and that Amin conspired with Reyes to fill out a passport application representing that they were married.
Therefore, Amin's convictions for making a false statement in an application for a passport, 18 U.S.C. § 1542, subornation of perjury, 18 U.S.C. § 1622, and conspiracy to commit those offenses, 18 U.S.C. § 371, are proper. Even if certain of the jury instructions were erroneous, they were harmless.
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.