The second full day of jury deliberations in the trial of Wesley Snipes on tax evasion and conspiracy charges has come and gone. Jurors will return to work Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. in Ocala, Florida.
Today the jury presumably learned what “conspiracy” means. Here’s the definition from Law.com: “[W]hen people work together by agreement to commit an illegal act. A conspiracy may exist when the parties use legal means to accomplish an illegal result, or to use illegal means to achieve something that in itself is lawful. To prove a conspiracy those involved must have agreed to the plan before all the actions have been taken, or it is just a series of independent illegal acts….” Yesterday the jury had sent a note to the judge asking for the definition.
The only other trial-related news to come out of Ocala is that the surety company that put up the bond to guarantee Mr. Snipes’ appearance while he was filming a movie in Namibia asked to be released from that bond. Given that Mr. Snipes is back in Florida, everyone expects that motion to eventually go through. Of course, the surety company will need to follow the rules: Have the motion signed by a member of the Florida Bar. They didn’t today, so the motion was denied. I’d expect that error to be rectified tomorrow.
Mr. Snipes will likely have to post a larger bond (the current bond is $1 million) if he’s found guilty to stay free until sentencing. If Mr. Snipes is found guilty sentencing would likely be in about three to four months.
Tags: Snipes