United States v. Tilghman
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
134 F.3d 414 (1998)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Warren Tilghman (defendant) was charged with lying on a federal form to receive disability benefits. Specifically, Tilghman owned a business and had claimed on the form that he had no earnings from the business. Also, Tilghman asserted that an employee of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) had told him in a phone call that he could earn up to $300 per month without reporting the money on the form in question. At trial, Tilghman testified in his own defense. The trial judge questioned Tilghman extensively. For instance, when discussing the phone call between Tilghman and the DOL, the judge twice asked, “We just have to take your word for it?” Additionally, the judge questioned Tilghman about his business, stating, “I see. It’s a peculiar business where everybody stays in for years and loses money all the time.” Tilghman was convicted. Tilghman appealed, arguing that the judge’s questioning had prejudiced the jury, thus denying him a fair trial.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Tatel, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 805,000 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.
