Tax Lawyer's Blog

Stephen Hudak writing for the Orlando Sentinel:

The government’s arrest of a New York investment adviser should help Orlando-born actor Wesley Snipes’ ongoing bid to overturn his tax-related convictions and avoid prison, the movie star’s former lawyer said.

Kenneth Starr (no relation to the Ken Starr of Clinton-Lewinsky fame) was arrested and charged last Thursday with defrauding investors to the tune of $30,000,000.

Mr. Starr was a key prosecution witness in Snipes 2008 criminal tax trial in which Snipes was acquitted of the felony charge of tax evasion and convicted of the misdemeanor charge of failing to file tax returns.

Snipes’ lawyer Robert Barnes said this about Starr’s arrest:

Now we know the lead witness against Wesley, Mr. Starr, was lying all the time and is a perjurer.

Barnes must have been in a coma when he took constitutional law because even a first year paralegal could tell you that the mere arrest of Starr is not evidence of his guilt. In other words, like Barnes’ client Wesley Snipes, Kenneth Starr is entitled to a presumption of innocence.

Barnes then damages the reputation of his alma mater with this potentially libelous comment:

The indictment raises serious issues about whether Snipes misdemeanor tax convictions must be set aside now that the government has admitted their lead witness in their case against Snipes was defrauding his clients and committed perjury and fraud to cover up that fraud.

The federal government often uses the testimony of unsavory characters to pursue convictions. In some cases, prosecutors proffer the testimony of convicted felons. Those cases are never overturned on that basis as long as the defendant was given the opportunity to impeach the witness on cross-examination and the jury was properly instructed as to the evaluation of the witness’ testimony.

That Mr. Starr was later arrested and charged with a federal crime in no way taints his earlier testimony unless it can be shown that the prosecutors knew he intended to perjure himself and still put him on the stand.

Again, Snipes was acquitted of the tax evasion charge. This means that the jury probably didn’t find Starr or any of the other government witnesses credible. Snipes was convicted only of failing to file income tax returns and the government needed no witnesses to prove this charge because it was obvious from the record that Snipes failed to file those tax returns.

Starr’s testimony likely had nothing to do with the jury’s finding that Snipes broke the law by failing to file his tax returns.¹

Footnotes:

¹  If the jurors found Mr. Starr unreliable, as it appears they did, it was more likely a significant factor in Snipes acquittal of tax evasion than it was a significant factor in his conviction for failing to file tax returns.

Related Posts:

• Why Wesley Snipes Won’t Win his Appeal
• Convicted Tax Evader Wesley Snipes Wants to Travel Overseas to Make Movies

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