United States v. Arnold L. Hollingsworth, Jr. And William A. Pickard, III

POSNER, Chief Judge.

The defendants, Pickard (a dentist) and Hollingsworth (a farmer), were convicted by a jury of money laundering and related offenses in violation of federal law, and were sentenced to 24 and 18 months in prison, respectively. A panel of this court held that the defendants had been entrapped as a matter of law, and were entitled to be acquitted. 9 F.3d 593 (7th Cir.1993). Rehearing en banc was granted on the petition of the government, which contended that the decision had created a new element of the defense of entrapment — “readiness”—and by doing so had radically altered…