United States v. Godat, No. 11-3536 (8th Cir. 2012)
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Defendant waived indictment and was charged by information with structuring financial transactions for the purpose of evading currency-transaction reporting requirements and with evading taxes. The district court, varying upwards from Defendant's guidelines range, sentenced him to sixty-months' imprisonment for his illegal structuring charge and ten months' imprisonment for his tax evasion charge and ordered that the sentences run consecutively. The court also ordered restitution in the full amount of the underlying fraud. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the sentence, holding (1) the district court did not violate Defendant's Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights in determining Defendant's sentence; and (2) the district court did not violate Defendant's Fifth Amendment right to remain silent when it criticized his attorney for advising him not to cooperate with the probation office in preparing his presentence investigation report.
Court Description: Criminal case - Sentencing. District court did not consider any undisclosed factual allegations in determining defendant's sentence and his argument that the confidential sentencing memorandum violated his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights is rejected; district court's expression of its views regarding defendant's lack of cooperation were made after his sentence was announced and the record does not show that the court's concerns played any part in the sentence imposed.
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