Opinion ID: 583188
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Good Faith Instruction

Text: 14 A defendant is entitled to an instruction covering his theory of a defense if the instruction has a basis in the law and there is some foundation for it in the evidence. United States v. Ibarra-Alcarez, 830 F.2d 968, 973 (9th Cir.1987). 15 Valdez presented no evidence regarding his good faith understanding of the income tax laws. The only reference to a good faith belief was a question that was ordered stricken as leading. The mere statement of what a defendant thinks about his tax situation, with no evidentiary foundation, is not sufficient to show good faith. See Cheek v. United States, 111 S.Ct. 604, 607 (1991) (Supreme Court describes considerable evidence produced at trial to support a good faith belief); cf. United States v. Powell, No. 90-10060 (slip op. June 13, 1991) (defendants relied on a specific section of the tax code for their good faith belief that they did not have to file a return).