Opinion ID: 77674
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Denial of Defendant's Proffered Jury Instructions, Numbers 41 and 42

Text: 54 Dean proffered jury instructions on the requirements of 26 U.S.C. §§ 6001 and 6011. These statutes mandate that anyone who is liable for income tax must keep records, submit returns and comply with the rules prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Dean argues that these statutes could be read to apply only to persons who are liable for tax, rather than all persons, and suggests that this reading bolsters his good faith belief defense. Accordingly, he argues, the district court abused its discretion when it refused to read these additional instructions to the jury. 55 We do not agree. The Government charged Dean with two offenses—income tax evasion and attempted interference in the administration of internal revenue laws. The district court instructed the jury on these two offenses and on good faith, which provides a defense to the charge of income tax evasion. See Cheek, 498 U.S. at 202-07, 111 S.Ct. 604. Dean has not shown how the court's failure to include these additional instructions impaired his ability to mount a defense. See United States v. Martinelli, 454 F.3d 1300, 1318 (11th Cir. 2006). Dean was free to, and did, introduce documents into evidence at trial that quoted from sections 6601 and 6011 of the Internal Revenue Code. He had every opportunity to explain his reading of those sections when he testified. Thus, the court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to instruct the jury on these other, not clearly relevant, sections of the Code. 56