United States Sixth Circuit

In a prosecution for numerous tax violations and conspiracy to defraud investigators from the Internal Revenue Service, suppression of statements and documents obtained through an improper civil investigation is reversed where: 1) the Fifth Amendment is implicated only when a federal agent's conduct actually compels a person to speak against his will; 2) there is no credible basis for concluding that defendants' statements were coerced; 3) while the civil examiners may have been negligent in failing to refer the case to the IRS's Criminal Division, there was no evidence that they deliberately disregarded IRS policy in order to mislead the defendants; and 4) there was no evidence that defendants were lulled into a false sense of security about the nature of the charges they might face.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/04/2009
• Published 02/04/2009

Judges

• Before BOGGS, Chief Judge;  and COLE and COOK, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Sixth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  Robert Cares, Assistant United States Attorney, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant.  Steven F. Fishman, Robert M. Morgan, Law Office, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellees.   ON BRIEF:  Robert Cares, Assistant United States Attorney, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant.  Steven F. Fishman, Robert M. Morgan, Law Office, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellees.