NACDL - United States v. Clay

United States v. Clay

Brief for Amici Curiae of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Reason Foundation and Five Criminal and Health Law Scholars In Support of Defendants-Appellants Urging Reversal.

United States v. Clay

Brief Details

Case No.: 14-12373
Brief Filed: September 26, 2014
Jurisdiction: 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

Key Topics in the Brief

White Collar | Statutory Interpretation | Whiteside | Objectively Reasonable | Knowingly False | Florida Medicaid Statute

Briefs

United-States-v-Clay-Amicus-(1).pdf

Prior Decision

Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, No. 8:11-cr-00115-JSM-MAP.

Argument(s)

This Court held in United States v. Whiteside, 285 F. 3d 1345, 1351 (11th Cir. 2002), that a false statement charge cannot succeed when the statement is true under an objectively reasonable interpretation of the law. Under Whiteside, a statement is knowingly false only when its falsity is clear. Whiteside is an important protection against inappropriate prosecutions. Whiteside prevents government overreaching in uncertain regulatory environments. Whitesidecurbs inappropriate prosecutions based on breach of contract. Whiteside protects against arbitrary and inconsistent enforcement, as occurred here. The Whiteside question should have been resolved by the district court, and this Court should conduct the Whiteside analysis de novo.