United States v. Richard Joseph Finley

On July 9, 1999, the government filed a second superceding indictment against Richard Joseph Finley charging him with one count of making a false claim against the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287 , one count of attempting to interfere with the administration of the Internal Revenue Service in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7212 (a), and three counts of bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344 .

A jury trial began on December 21, 1999. In the middle of the defendant’s presentation of his expert psychological witness, the government objected to the witness’ testimony and requested that the testimony be struck as a sanction for the defendant’s violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16(b)(1)(C). After lengthy discussions outside the presence of the jury and after the district court conducted a hearing pursuant to Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 , 113 S.Ct. 2786 , 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993), the district court excluded the entirety of defense expert’s testimony as a sanction for violation of Rule 16 and as unreliable and irrelevant under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.

On January 5, 2000, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all but one bank fraud…