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United States v. Phillips

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
376 F. Supp. 2d 6 (2005)

Written by Angela Patrick, JD

Facts

A federal wire-fraud statute made it illegal to transmit a wire, radio, or television communication in interstate commerce that furthered a fraudulent scheme. Gerald Phillips and three others (defendants) were charged with violating the federal wire-fraud statute. At trial, the prosecution (plaintiff) did not present any evidence that the alleged wire communications ever crossed a state line. Phillips and the others were convicted of violating the wire-fraud statute. However, the men moved for a directed verdict, arguing that they could not be convicted under the federal wire-fraud statute without evidence that their wire communications had crossed a state line.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Ponsor, J.)

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A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

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