No. 20-7820

Michael J. Little v. United States

Lower Court: Second Circuit
Docketed: 2021-04-22
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
IFP
Tags: constructive-amendment criminal-intent criminal-procedure due-process foreign-accounts green-card-holder indictment second-circuit stirone-v-united-states tax-reporting willful-violation
Key Terms:
JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2021-09-27
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the indictment was constructively amended to add additional undeclared 'overseas' accounts

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED Petitioner, a green card holder who returned to the United Kingdom in 1983 but later resided temporarily and conducted some business in the United States, was tried on charges of (i) helping U.S. family members avoid income and estate taxes on inheritance repatriated from overseas trusts, (ii) subsequently abetting declarations that repatriated sums were gifts rather than trust distributions, (iii) failing to declare personal “foreign” FBAR accounts and file U.S. 1040 tax returns. 1. Whether the indictment was constructively amended to add additional undeclared “overseas” accounts not among those specifically identified on the ground that the Second Circuit allows such amendments deemed outside the “core of criminality,” in clear conflict with Stirone v. United States, 361 U.S. 212, 218 (1960) and multiple circuits forbidding amendment of specified allegations? 2. Whether an overseas green card holder could “willfully” fail to report “foreign” accounts to the IRS when during the relevant time period such obligation only applied to a “United States resident” and was only amended to apply to “lawful permanent residents” barely in advance of the filing deadline? 3. Whether a conscious avoidance instruction on tax counts is appropriate on the mere basis that a defendant challenged at trial that he had actual knowledge that his conduct violated the law but without proof that he took deliberate steps to avoid such knowledge as required by multiple circuits and this Court’s decision in Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S§.A., 563 U.S. 754, 769 (2011)? i STATEMENT PURSUANT TO RULE 14.1(b) AND RULE 29.6 The names of all parties to this petition appear in the caption of the case on the cover page. The parties have no parent or subsidiary companies and do not issue stock. The proceedings directly related to this case are as follows: e United States v. Little, No. 12-cr-0647 (PKC), U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judgments entered November 20, 2018 and February 11, 2019. e United States v. Little, Nos. 18-3622-cr and 19-445-cr, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Judgments entered September 30, 2020 and November 19, 2020. ii

Docket Entries

2021-10-04
Petition DENIED.
2021-09-01
Reply of petitioner Michael Little filed. (Distributed)
2021-08-12
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
2021-07-23
Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
2021-06-14
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including July 23, 2021.
2021-06-11
Motion to extend the time to file a response from June 23, 2021 to July 23, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
2021-05-11
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including June 23, 2021.
2021-05-10
Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 24, 2021 to June 23, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
2021-04-19
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due May 24, 2021)

Attorneys

Michael Little
Robert Alan CulpRobert A. Culp, Attorney at Law, Petitioner
Robert Alan CulpRobert A. Culp, Attorney at Law, Petitioner
United States
Brian H. FletcherActing Solicitor General, Respondent
Brian H. FletcherActing Solicitor General, Respondent