Opinion ID: 1290838
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Constructive Amendment to the Jury Instructions

Text: Defendants all contend that the jury instructions on Counts 2-13 were erroneous because they constructively amended the indictment. Defendants concede they did not raise this argument in the District Court, but claim they are nevertheless entitled to relief because the instructions constituted plain error. See Fed. R.Crim.P. 52(b). We agree. United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993). An indictment is constructively amended when evidence, arguments, or the district court's jury instructions effectively amend[s] the indictment by broadening the possible bases for conviction from that which appeared in the indictment. United States v. Lee, 359 F.3d 194, 208 (3d Cir.2004). We have held that a constructive amendment is an exceptional category of error because it violates a basic right of criminal defendants, the grand jury guarantee of the Fifth Amendment. United States v. Syme, 276 F.3d 131, 154 (3d Cir.2002) (applying United States v. Adams, 252 F.3d 276 (3d Cir. 2001)). A constructive amendment to the indictment constitutes `a per se violation of the fifth amendment's grand jury clause.' Id. at 148 (quoting United States v. Castro, 776 F.2d 1118, 1121-22 (3d Cir.1985)). A constructive amendment of the charges against a defendant deprives the defendant of his/her substantial right to be tried only on charges presented in an indictment returned by a grand jury. United States v. Syme, 276 F.3d 131, 149 (3d Cir.2002) (citation omitted). Thus, where a trial court constructively amends a jury instruction, our plain error analysis presumes prejudice. Id. [3] Here, in instructing the jury about conduct that could establish the charged employment tax evasion, the court included failing to report information to the Partnership's account, and falsifying books and records. The court explained: Various schemes and devices may be used in an attempt to evade or defeat a tax. Affirmative attempts to evade federal employment taxes include, for example, filing false Employers Quarterly Federal Tax Returns (Forms 941), falsifying books and records so as to conceal the payment of wages and the employment taxes due thereon, or failing to report to your accountant all of the wages paid to employees.