Posted on 04/26/2005 9:48:44 AM PDT by Lurking Libertarian
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Americans can be prosecuted under U.S. wire fraud law for scheming to evade foreign taxes, ruling on a case about large quantities of liquor smuggled from the United States into Canada.
By a 5-4 vote, the high court ruled against three convicted defendants, brothers David and Carl Pasquantino and accomplice Arthur Hilts, who argued that such prosecutions exceed the reach of the federal wire fraud law.
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"It may seem an odd use of the federal government's resources to prosecute a U.S. citizen for smuggling cheap liquor into Canada." Thomas wrote.
"But the broad language of the wire fraud statute authorizes it to do so and no canon of statutory construction permits us to read the statute more narrowly," he concluded.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, David Souter and Antonin Scalia dissented. Ginsburg said the majority ruling read the wire fraud law to cover charges that another nation's revenue laws have been evaded.
"U.S. citizens who have committed criminal violations of Canadian tax law can be extradited to stand trial in Canada," she said. The decision failed to take into account Canada's primary interest in the matter at stake, Ginsburg said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
SCOTUS ping.
Isn't this how Kennedy and his family made all there money?
But in reverse.
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