Jury deliberates on Snipes tax case
Defense lawyers argue that Snipes did owe unpaid tax but had not committed a crime
The jury for the tax case of Hollywood superstar Wesley Snipes went into
deliberation this week as Snipes’ lawyers argued that although Snipes owed large
amounts of unpaid tax he had not committed a crime.
The New York Times reports that defence lawyers Robert E. Barnes and
Robert G. Bernhoft used adjectives such as ‘kooky’, ‘crazy’ and ‘dead wrong’ to
describe Snipes’ position on not paying tax.
But they added that although the actor’s position had ‘no merit’ that did not
make him a fraudster. They insisted that Snipes had not broken any laws and
should be acquitted of fraud, conspiracy and six counts of failing to pay taxes
on more than $58m (£29.1m) of income for the years 1999 through 2004.
The jury of seven women and five men will begin deliberations on Wednesday.
Further reading:
Snipes’ lawyer admits his letters were
‘kooky’
Prosecutors show evidence that Snipes hates the
IRS