United States v. Dakota

197 F.3d 821, 84 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 7427, 1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 32820, 1999 WL 1210865
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedDecember 17, 1999
DocketNos. 97-2256, 97-2257
StatusPublished
Cited by98 cases

This text of 197 F.3d 821 (United States v. Dakota) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Dakota, 197 F.3d 821, 84 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 7427, 1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 32820, 1999 WL 1210865 (6th Cir. 1999).

Opinion

AMENDED OPINION

SILER, Circuit Judge.

Defendant Jerrold Polinsky appeals his convictions for paying kickbacks to an agent of an Indian tribal organization, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666, and of conspiracy to violate 18 U.S.C. § 666. Defendant Fred Dakota appeals his convictions for receiving kickbacks, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666, and income tax fraud, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206. Both challenge the admission of hearsay evidence under the business records exception, while Dakota also challenges a violation of his attorney-client privilege, improper jury instructions, lack of a nexus between the alleged payments and federal funds, transfer of venue, prosecutorial misconduct and double jeopardy. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (“KBIC”) is a tribe of Chippewa Indians which operated a gaming casino on its reservation in Michigan using gaming machines leased from International Gaming Management (“IGM”) during 1991, 1992, and 1993. Polinsky is one of the founders of IGM and is its largest shareholder. He is also the sole shareholder of Spectrum Communications (“Spectrum”). During the period of the lease between KBIC and IGM, Spectrum acted as IGM’s agent in placing gaming machines in Michigan. Also during this period, KBIC received more than $10,000 in any twelve-month period pursuant to various federal programs.

Evidence relating to the kickback scheme showed payments from KBIC to IGM, from IGM to Spectrum, and from Spectrum to Dakota. Documents including check registers and canceled checks from IGM and Spectrum indicated this chain of payment. Special Agent Timothy Reed testified about documents seized at the home of Gary Polinsky, Jerrold Polin-sky’s son who was associated with IGM in a consulting capacity. For most of the payments Reed traced, he used documents from the home of Gary Polinsky. Dakota’s [825]*825tax returns for 1991, 1992, and 1993 did not include income from Spectrum.

Tribal attorney Joseph O’Leary testified to conversations with Dakota which took place in 1991. After O’Leary questioned Dakota about kickbacks, Dakota asked him whether it would be appropriate if Dakota were to obtain a share of the profits generated by installing certain video lottery devices on the reservation. O’Leary advised him twice that he would need to make a disclosure to the tribal council before they voted to install such devices.

Dakota and Polinsky testified that Dakota had been paid by Spectrum as a spokesperson for a proposed telephone lottery to be run by IGM. They claimed that the payments to Dakota were advances. Dakota says that he did not report the money as current income in the disputed tax years because the monies were to be repaid to Spectrum if not later earned. An IRS agent testified that the money received by Dakota was taxable income whether or not characterized as advances.

After the close of the prosecution’s casein-chief, the district court granted a defense Rule 29 motion in part by consolidating all fifty counts of substantive violations of 18 U.S.C. § 666 against Dakota and Polinsky with the conspiracy count. The government requested reconsideration of that decision, asking that one substantive count go to the jury along with the conspiracy count. At the end of all evidence, the district court reinstated one substantive count.

DISCUSSION

I. ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE

This court reviews de novo a district court’s decision regarding waiver of the attorney-client privilege. See United States v. Collis, 128 F.3d 313, 320 (6th Cir.1997). The burden of establishing the existence of the privilege rests with the person asserting it. See In re Grand Jury Investigation No. 83-2-85, 723 F.2d 447, 450 (6th Cir.1983). Absent an indication that the lawyer should act in a capacity other than that of the company’s lawyer, a corporate officer will not have a privilege. See In re Grand Jury Proceedings, Detroit Michigan, August, 1977, 434 F.Supp. 648, 650 (E.D.Mich.1977), aff'd, 570 F.2d 562, 563 (6th Cir.1978) (affirming for the reasons set forth in the district court opinion).

The only evidence Dakota submitted in support of his claim of privilege was the affidavit of O’Leary, which is insufficient to support the claim of attorney1 client privilege. O’Leary was counsel for KBIC, and his affidavit does not establish that Dakota contacted O’Leary for legal advice as an individual as opposed to seeking advice from O’Leary in his position as tribal attorney. The district court correctly ruled that Dakota’s conversations with O’Leary were not protected by the attorney-client privilege.

The attorney-client privilege is waived by voluntary disclosure of private communications by an individual or corporation to third parties. See In re Grand Jury Proceedings Oct. 12, 1995, 78 F.3d 251, 254 (6th Cir.1996). In addition, a client may waive the privilege by conduct which implies a waiver of the privilege or a consent to disclosure. See In re von Bulow, 828 F.2d 94, 104 (2d Cir.1987). Here, the KBIC impliedly consented to inspec[826]*826tion of its documents, which the defendants obtained by subpoena from its offices while those offices were occupied by an activist group, many of whom were not tribal officers. The KBIC did not object to the subpoena or the inspection of the documents by any of investigators. In addition, the KBIC did not object to Polin-sky’s use of the documents although he is not a member of the tribe. Any joint defense agreement between Dakota and Polinsky would not alter the nature of Polinsky’s inspection of the documents. Perhaps most importantly, Dakota does not state on appeal which, if any, of the controversial KBIC documents were placed into evidence and how that evidence harmed him at trial. Without a showing that the documents were placed into evidence, this court cannot determine whether the documents were improperly disclosed in violation of the KBIC’s privilege. Thus, the trial court acted properly in finding a valid waiver.

II.INSTRUCTIONS

As to the alleged error in the tax fraud instructions, this court reviews jury instructions as a whole “to determine whether they fairly and adequately submitted the issues and applicable law to the jury.” United States v. Williams, 952 F.2d 1504, 1512 (6th Cir.1991). The instructions were a correct statement of the law and substantially covered Dakota’s defense theory that the unreported amounts were advances with a duty for repayment. The district court did not err here.

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197 F.3d 821, 84 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 7427, 1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 32820, 1999 WL 1210865, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-dakota-ca6-1999.