Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Seventh Circuit Affirms Money-Laundering, Conspiracy Convictions of Car Dealers for Cash Sales to Drug Traffickers

Post author:Michael M. O'Hear
Post published:May 7, 2012
Post category:Criminal Law & Process Federal Criminal Law & Process Public Race & Law Religion & Law Seventh Circuit

Amir Hosseini and Hossein Obaei, who operated three Chicago-area automobile dealerships, sold many luxury cars to drug dealers over a ten-year period. Hosseini and Obaei were apparently popular with this market segment because of their willingness to take large cash payments in small bills. Eventually, federal prosecutors caught up with them, and, following a five-week trial, they were convicted by a jury on 97 counts of conspiracy, money laundering, mail fraud, illegal transaction structuring, bank fraud, and aiding and abetting a drug conspiracy. The Seventh Circuit has now affirmed these convictions and the 15- and 20-year sentences that went along with them.

Had it been properly preserved, the most substantial legal issue on appeal would have been the question left open by United States v. Santos, 553 U.S. 507 (2008): whether, in a traditional money-laundering prosecution, the government must prove that the allegedly laundered proceeds are net profits, as opposed to gross receipts, of the underlying crime. (See my blog post about Santos here). However, since the Santos issue was raised for the first time on appeal, the court used plain-error review and found that the defendants could not satisfy the standard given the “unsettled state of the law.” (2)

Hosseini and Obaei also raised an interesting voir dire issue.

Setser v. United States: Bureaucratic Sentencing on Trial in the Supreme Court, Again

Post author:Michael M. O'Hear
Post published:May 5, 2012
Post category:Criminal Law & Process Federal Criminal Law & Process Federal Sentencing Public U.S. Supreme Court

While he was already on probation for another offense, Monroe Setser was arrested for trafficking in meth. The arrest led to three separate criminal proceedings: a revocation of Setser’s probation in state court and fresh prosecutions in both state and federal court. (One wonders why our law-enforcement authorities have nothing better to do with their time than pile on the charges in these sorts of redundant prosecutions. Oh, to overturn the Supreme Court’s regrettable decision in Bartkus v. Illinois!) The federal prosecution reached the sentencing stage first, and the district court decided that it should rule on whether the 151-month federal sentence should be served consecutively to or concurrently with the anticipated state sentences. The court split the difference, determining that the federal sentence would be consecutive to the sentence for the probation violation, but concurrent with the sentence for the fresh state charge. Then — wouldn’t you know it! — the state court made the federal sentence a logical impossibility by ordering the two state sentences to run concurrently with one another.

On appeal, Setser argued unsuccessfully that the district court lacked authority to make a concurrent/consecutive decision relative to a state sentence that had not yet been imposed. In Setser’s view, it was up to the Bureau of Prisons to make the call, based on its authority under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b) to decide whether federal sentences are to be served in a state or federal facility. The Fifth Circuit rejected this view, and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in a 6-3 decision earlier this spring.

New Law School Poll Results Show Barrett Lead Over Falk Growing

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:May 2, 2012
Post category:Marquette Law School Political Processes & Rhetoric Public

With the Democratic primary for governor in its last week, new results for the Marquette Law School Poll, released Wednesday, show Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett opening a larger lead over his main opponent, former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, than was the case in March, before Barrett formally entered the race.

But there are still a lot of undecided likely-voters in the election set for May 8 – about 19% — which needs to be kept in mind, Professor Charles Franklin, director of the poll, said in an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session at Eckstein Hall.

Head-to-head poll results for a possible final election for governor on June 5 between Barrett and Republican Gov. Scott Walker indicate a race that is effectively a tie at this point. Results for both all registered voters and for those who say they are likely to vote put one percentage point between Barrett and Walker (in one case, with Barrett ahead, in one case with Walker ahead, and, in both cases, with differences that are clearly within the margin of error).

The poll results found Democratic President Barack Obama holding a nine point lead over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, an increase from the March results. But Franklin said Wisconsin is shaping up as a state that will be in play in the fall presidential campaign.

Full results for the poll, including video of the session at which the results were released and Powerpoint slides of key results, can be found by clicking here.