Mark J. Avery v. United States
DueProcess JusticiabilityDoctri
Where the defendant, trustee of a private trust charged with wire fraud and money laundering based on his non-disclosure and misspending involving trust funds, denied acting with a specific intent to defraud, was he denied his due process right to a fair trial when the district court refused his request to instruct the jury, either separately or in the context of the instruction on specific intent, that his good-faith belief that his actions were permissible under the terms of the trust was a defense to the charge, because such good faith is inconsistent with the element of specific intent?
QUESTION PRESENTED Where the defendant, trustee of a private trust charged with wire fraud and money laundering based on his non-disclosure and misspending involving trust funds, denied acting with a specific intent to defraud, was he denied his due process right to a fair trial when the district court refused his request to instruct the jury, either separately or in the context of the instruction on specific intent, that his good-faith belief that his actions were permissible under the terms of the trust was a defense to the charge, because such good faith is inconsistent with the element of specific intent?