United States v. Phillips, No. 18-50138 (9th Cir. 2019)
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Defendant appealed his conviction for conspiracy to use interstate telephone calls in the commission of a murder-for-hire in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1958. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's conclusion that defendant's promise to forgive an uncollectable debt satisfies the pecuniary value requirement of section 1958.
The panel held that the pecuniary value requirement does not require the murder-for-hire agreement to comport with contract rules, as Congress did not aim section 1958 only at murderous businessmen. In this case, defendant's promise of loan forgiveness satisfied section 1958's pecuniary value requirement. In so holding, the panel joined its sister circuits' understanding that section 1958 does not require that the promised economic advantage be enforceable.
Court Description: Criminal Law. In a case in which the defendant was convicted of conspiracy to use interstate telephone calls in the commission of a murder-for-hire in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1958, the panel affirmed the district court’s conclusion that the defendant’s promise to forgive an uncollectible and legally unenforceable debt satisfies the pecuniary value requirement of § 1958. The panel explained that the pecuniary value requirement does not require the murder-for-hire agreement to comport with contract rules; the defendant’s promise to relieve the hit man of a debt for an illegal marijuana venture gave the hit man an economic benefit, satisfying the pecuniary value requirement for murder-for-hire. In a concurrently filed memorandum, the panel concluded that the district court erred in excluding all evidence relating to the defendant’s kidney disease, but that the error was harmless.
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