Legal Commentary

Snipes Gets the Max

By TChris

Our Crime in the News coverage would be incomplete without mention of Wesley Snipes, who was sentenced today.

Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday for failing to file tax returns, the maximum penalty — and a victory for prosecutors who sought to make an example of the action star.

We should cringe when prosecutors or judges crow about "making an example" out of a defendant. Does fame justify suspension of our belief in equal protection of the law?

Suggested reading if you want to know more about the Snipes prosecution: (more...)

In a post headlined Why the government is eager to imprison Wesley Snipes, Prof. Doug Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy links to a Forbes.com story explaining "why the government sees the Snipes case as one of the most important tax evasion cases in recent memory." The post includes links to earlier SL&P coverage. You can find Doug's sentencing prediction here (nobody's crystal ball is perfect) and his links to additional analysis of the Snipes sentencing here.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 25, 2008 (boomark / email).