United States v. Shields

Defendants Shields and Sims appeal their convictions for multiple counts stemming from the capitalization and operation of their real estate development business, which lost millions of investors’ dollars from 2007 to 2009. Defendants challenge their convictions based on several claimed trial errors, including admission of prejudicial evidence, failure to sever the joint trial, ineffective assistance of counsel, inadequate jury instructions, and denial of the right to be present at a critical stage. The court held that the district court erred by failing to instruct the jury that it must find a duty to disclose in order to convict defendants of wire fraud based on a material omission. However, there was no plain reversible error because the error was not clear and obvious, and is unlikely to affect the outcome of the proceedings. The court rejected defendants' remaining challenges in an unpublished memorandum disposition. View "United States v. Shields" on Justia Law