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United States v. Tavares

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
844 F.3d 46 (2016)

Written by Abby Roughton, JD

Facts

Elizabeth Tavares, John O’Brien, and William Burke (defendants) were tried in federal district court for mail fraud and violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. During trial, the district court told jurors that they could submit questions for the court to ask witnesses based on whether “the lawyer gets out what interests you from the witness.” The jurors submitted 281 questions, and the court asked witnesses 180 of those questions. Many of the jurors’ questions went beyond seeking clarifications of the witnesses’ testimony and requested additional gap-filling evidence. Tavares, O’Brien, and Burke were convicted, and they appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Torruella, 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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