« The verdict is in | Main | Changing the “willful failure to file” tax returns law »
Is prison in the cards?
By JJ MacNab | February 4, 2008
Simple answer, it depends on the judge.
For Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas Rosile, chances of a prison sentence are very good. They were convicted on two felony counts each, and the underlying amounts involved are so high that prison time is almost inevitable.
For Snipes, it appears that odds are pretty dang high too, unless the Judge is much more of a softy than he appears in court. I suspect he doesn’t find tax protester semantic games and threats (especially that 29 page letter) particularly amusing.
In federal court, the sentencing process begins with a somewhat complex formula called the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. In the next few weeks, the probation officer assigned the case will prepare the formula calculation and submit it to the court. Both the defense attorneys and prosecutors will have a chance to object to the recommendations made by the probation officer, and the judge will takes those objections into consideration when he sentences the defendants roughly three or four months from now. When the prosecutors ask for the formula sentence to be increased, it’s called an “enhancement”, and a decrease request from prosecution or defense is called a “downward departure.”
The sentencing guidelines are not kind to Snipes. Bottom line, he could quite realistically be sentenced to the maximum sentence of 36 months in federal prison.
So how does the guideline formula work?
Depending on a number of factors, such as the amount of taxes Snipes didn’t pay and whether or not the judge thinks he obstructed justice by sending that nasty-gram to the IRS and prosecutor, different levels are assigned. Assuming the 2007 version of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines applies, and using a tax loss of $2,500,000 as the basis for the sentence, in the best case scenario for Snipes, the offense level would be 24. If he has no criminal record, he would be looking at a sentence of 51-63 months, according to the Guidelines. Since the maximum amount by law he can be sentenced to is 36 months, his Guideline sentence would be reduced to 36 months.
If the tax loss were at least $7,000,000, his Guideline calculation would be at least 63-78 months, which is again capped at that 36-month maximum. If he owes more, or the judge finds that an obstruction enhancement is warranted, the Guideline recommendation would be even higher but the maximum sentence can never be higher than 36 months.
The bad news for Snipes is that the formula puts him in prison for three years. The potential good news for him is that the judge doesn’t legally have to follow the formula. That 36-month sentence is an advisory number and if the judge feels there is suitable justification for sentencing Snipes to less time in prison, he can. If the judge departs significantly from the formula, the prosecutors can appeal the sentence, though, and this judge was very careful in how he handled and documented the trial, indicating that he doesn’t like his rulings to be overturned at the appellate level.
If Snipes files all of his past return (1999 through 2006) and pays off his tax obligations prior to sentencing, the judge may be inclined to be more lenient. 36 months in prison can be a pretty good incentive to do just that.
Topics: Kahn, Rosile, Snipes | 4 Comments »
4 Responses to “Is prison in the cards?”
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:44 am
If White Men Can’t Jump, let’s at least hope that White Judges Will Sentence to the Max.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Only 36 months? Victory!
February 6th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
The courts can set his sentencing to be suspended provided that payments or partial payments are received based on a deadline date, and ask him what can he suggest to society to bring impact to prevent erroroness acts or misconceptions in the IRS filing process.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Lucille, Is there any particular reason you are the first to “throw the stone” at this man? It says very little toward your character to derive any type of enjoyment from this. Our society is one of hypocrites. Wait until they shine the light on you. I’ll be tuned in to watch you squirm next…unless you can hide your crimes effectively like most do.