United States v. Christopher Eric McNeil

Christopher McNeil was convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 for making false statements on his Criminal Justice Act 23 (“CJA-23”) Financial Affidavit. On appeal McNeil argues that his actions should not be subject to punishment under § 1001 because § 1001(b) specifically excludes “judicial proceeding^]” from the ambit of the statute. He also argues that the district court erred by denying a “good faith” jury instruction at trial. We have jurisdiction to hear this appeal from the district court. 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . Because we hold that McNeil’s statements were made during the course of a “judicial proceeding” within the meaning of § 1001(b), we reverse.

I. Background

On April 6, 2000, Christopher McNeil was indicted on one count of possessing false documents. He requested that the court appoint counsel to represent him and submitted a CJA-23 Financial Affidavit to support his request. The form requires the defendant to list his assets to determine if he qualifies financially for a court-appointed attorney. McNeil completed the form with the aid of Federal Defender Anthony Gallagher. McNeil admits that he omitted reference to real estate and several financial accounts that he owned at…