Jury Selection Under Way in Wesley Snipes Tax Trial

Jury selection began yesterday in the Florida trial of actor Wesley Snipes, accused of seeking to evade income taxes.

Snipes has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the government and filing a false claim for a $7 million refund, the New York Times reports. Snipes maintains he was following expert advice that holds income taxes are illegal, despite rulings by courts to the contrary.

Snipes is represented by lawyer Robert Bernhoft of Milwaukee, who is subject to a court order that bars him from selling a program advising people they have no legal obligation to pay taxes, the Times story says.

Snipes’ spokesman Ross Johnson noted there were no blacks in the initial jury pool, the Ocala Star Banner reports. Snipes had sought to move the trial out of Ocala based on the claim that a black man could not get a fair trial there.

A handful of jurors were removed after they admitted they thought blacks commit a disproportionate share of crimes, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Jurors are also being asked if they have a grudge against the Internal Revenue Service, WESH.com reports.

TaxProf Blog has been covering the Snipes prosecution.