United States v. Wiggan
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
700 F.3d 1204 (2012)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
Joann Wiggan (defendant) was a technician at a communications company. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents were investigating a wiretap conspiracy and learned that the conspiracy leader’s wiretap source was Ray Turner, a former employee of Wiggan’s company. The FBI reviewed Turner’s telephone records and found numerous calls to a voicemail account assigned to Wiggan. Wiggan was interviewed by the FBI and denied having had contact with Turner during the time period in question. Wiggan testified before the grand jury that she had not retrieved any messages from her voicemail account. When Wiggan appeared before the grand jury again, she gave an excuse for her prior testimony and, after agreeing that her prior statement about not having accessed her voicemail was false, added that her husband said she had accessed her voicemail. Wiggan was indicted and convicted for making a false declaration under oath. On appeal, she argued that she had recanted her grand jury testimony and the district court should have submitted the recantation defense to the jury.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fernandez, J.)
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