United States v. Scott

270 F.3d 30 (2001)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
U
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

United States v. Scott

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
270 F.3d 30 (2001)

Facts

Alan Scott (defendant) was convicted of making false claims to an agency of the United States due to his filing of 20 false income-tax results using fake identities. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent James Donahue investigated Scott over the course of many years, during which he had seen many examples of Scott’s handwriting. Several documents containing Scott’s handwriting were admitted into evidence, and Donahue testified at trial that the handwriting was Scott’s based on his familiarity with it during his investigation of Scott. Donahue also testified he had seen Scott sign his name on one occasion. Scott objected to Donahue’s testimony, arguing that Donahue could not authenticate Scott’s handwriting, because Donahue was not a handwriting expert and had only become familiar with his handwriting during the course of a criminal investigation. Scott also objected that Donahue was not sufficiently familiar with his handwriting to testify. The trial court overruled Scott’s objections. During Donahue’s testimony, Scott cross-examined him on the only time that Donahue had seen Scott actually sign his name. Following his conviction, Scott appealed, arguing that the trial court improperly allowed Donahue’s testimony.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Lynch, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 811,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Evidence

Key Terms