Opinion ID: 2996020
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Theory-of-Defense Jury Instruction

Text: Chavin and Litwin argued as part of their defense to the tax-fraud charges that they relied in good faith on the advice of Chavin’s accountant Kessler and therefore did not “willfully” perpetrate the tax fraud. Defendants tendered a theory-of-defense jury instruction that covered this point. The district court, however, refused to give the instruction to the jury, stating that the theory of defense was sufficiently covered by other instructions; specifically, by the pattern instruction on good faith and a further instruction that made clear that defendants must have acted “willfully” within the precise definition of that term. We review a district court’s refusal to give a theory-ofdefense instruction de novo. United States v. Meyer, 157 F.3d 1067, 1074 (7th Cir. 1998). To be entitled to a theory 6 Nos. 01-2302 & 01-3414 of defense instruction, a defendant must satisfy a four-part test by showing (1) that the proposed instruction is a correct statement of law; (2) that the evidence in the case supports the theory of defense; (3) that the theory of defense is not already part of the charge; and (4) that failure to include the proposed instruction would deny the defendant a fair trial. Id. Here, defendants have, at the very least, failed to satisfy the third element. We have recognized in prior tax-evasion cases that a “ ‘good faith reliance’ defense is essentially a claim that the [defendant] did not act ‘willfully.’ ” United States v. Brimberry, 961 F.2d 1286, 1291 (7th Cir. 1992). Consequently, when, as here, instructions are given that require the jury to find that a defendant acted “willfully” and those instructions define “willfulness” and “good faith” as mutually exclusive, then a further “good faith reliance” theory-of-defense instruction would be unnecessarily redundant. Id.; United States v. Kelley, 864 F.2d 569, 573 (7th Cir. 1989). Therefore, we find that the instructions given by the district court adequately covered the defendants’ theory of defense.