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First Survivor winner voted loser in First Circuit

By Douglas A. Berman

Just in time for next week's premier of Survivor: Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites, the First Circuit today affirmed in this long opinion the federal convictions and sentence of Richard Hatch, who won the first installment of the reality TV show "Survivor."  Here is how the 52-page ruling starts:Appellant-defendant Richard Hatch, the first winner of the CBS reality tv show "Survivor," appeals from his convictions and sentence on three counts of filing false tax returns, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 7201 and 7206(1), after a jury trial in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. Hatch makes four arguments on appeal: (1) that the district court violated his Sixth Amendment rights by curtailing Hatch's explanation of why he believed the show's producers had paid the taxes on his "Survivor" winnings; (2) that, in a variety of ways, the court improperly limited the defense's right to crossexamine; (3) that the court wrongly allowed the government to use what Hatch calls "unqualified experts" while excluding some of the testimony of Hatch's own expert; and (4) that his sentence was unreasonably harsh...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 01, 2008 (boomark / email).