United States v. Hauert

WELLFORD, Circuit Judge. After conviction by a jury in the district court for tax evasion (violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201) and for failure to file tax returns for the calendar years 1988 through 1991 (violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203), defendant, Thomas E. Hauert, has appealed his convictions and sentences to this court. Conceding that he had failed to file federal income tax returns since 1986, Hauert first maintains that the district court erred ""in allowing the government to introduce evidence of defendant's compromise and settlement negotiations in a 1984 civil tax case."" Next, he asserts error by the trial Judge in ""denying defendant an opportunity to present lay opinion testimony . . . relevant to the issue of good faith."" Hauert also challenges certain jury instructions given by the district court applicable to his claimed ""good faith"" defense. He avers, moreover, prosecutorial misconduct denying him a fair trial, and, finally, that the government erroneously shifted the burden of proof from the prosecution. We discuss these grounds of Hauert's appeal seriatim. I. BACKGROUND