United States Ninth Circuit

Defendant was convicted and sentenced for committing and conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to secure mortgages by using false information in loan applications and supporting documents. The judgment of conviction is vacated and the case is remanded for further proceedings, where: 1) under the circumstances of this case, the district court's decision to exclude all evidence of defendant's alleged abuse at the hands of her then-boyfriend (and alleged co-conspirator), and to instruct the jury to disregard this evidence in its entirety, was error; 2) had the evidence been before the jury, a reasonable juror might have doubted whether defendant had the requisite knowledge and intent to commit fraud; 3) this erroneous evidentiary ruling violated defendant's due process right to present a complete defense, and the constitutional error was not harmless; and 4) a defendant is not obligated to admit her guilt to a crime as a precondition for raising an affirmative defense such as duress.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/25/2015
• Published 03/25/2015

Judges

• Clifton

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel