Opening Merits Brief Filed in the United States Supreme Court Case Pasquantino v. United States

Laura Brill, appellate attorney with the Los Angeles law firm Irell and Manella LLP, announced today that Irell had filed the opening merits brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Pasquantino v. United States, in which she serves as Counsel of Record. The question presented in the case is whether the federal wire fraud statute (18 U.S.C. § 1343) authorizes criminal prosecution of an alleged scheme to evade tax obligations imposed by a foreign sovereign.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) July 1, 2004

The case involves brothers David and Carl Pasquantino and Arthur Hilts, who were accused of scheming to transport liquor into Canada without paying Canadian sales and excise taxes. Rather than extraditing the group to stand trial under Canadian law, U.S prosecutors charged them with violating the federal wire fraud statute, citing their use of domestic telephone lines to order the liquor. In the brief filed today, Irell argues that this prosecution runs counter to a long-established rule that the courts of one country do not enforce the tax laws of another, and asked the Supreme Court to rule that the wire fraud statute does not apply to such conduct.

Although this issue arises here in the context of an alleged smuggling operation, Brill says its importance goes well beyond the circumstances of this case. If the convictions in this case are upheld, the government would also be free to prosecute multi-national corporations involved in complex international transactions when the government believes that such a company has taken too aggressive a position regarding its foreign tax obligations.

Attorney Laura Brill has participated in three cases before the Supreme Court in the last two years, including representing the California State Senate in a redistricting challenge to California's Congressional district lines drawn following the 2000 Census and submitting an amicus brief on behalf of the NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund in the landmark Texas Anti-Sodomy Statute case. She also served as a legal clerk for the Honorable Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

”Congress never intended to make the courts of this country into the world's tax courts. For hundreds of years, the United States and other nations have declined to enforce the tax laws of foreign countries. U.S. prosecutors have no authorization to break with that tradition.” said Brill in regard to the case.

The case will be heard in the Supreme Court in November 2004

Background Notes

•Laura Brill is an appellate attorney at Los Angeles law firm Irell and Manella LLP. Please refer to http://www.irell.com/attorneys/ShowLawyer.asp?AID=205 to view her bio online.

•Brill’s law firm, Irell and Manella LLP has over 250 lawyers and has a significant appellate practice in both state and federal court. The firm has handled numerous cases in the United States Supreme Court in recent years, and currently represents MCA Records in a case before the California Supreme Court involving the Bing Crosby estate, which addresses the question whether the attorney-client privilege survives the death of a client.

•One of the leading law firms in the United States, Irell & Manella LLP was founded in Los Angeles in 1941.

•Irell and Manella was voted the “Best Law Firm in California to Work For” by law.com in 2003.

•For more information on Irell & Manella’s full range of professional legal services, visit the firm online at http://www.irell.com.

For further information, or to schedule an interview with Ms. Brill, please contact:

Liam Collopy / Shannon Hartigan

Account Director / Account Executive

Levine Communications Office

(310)248-6222 ex. 11 / 16

liam@levinepr.com / shannon@levinepr.com


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