United States v. Oshatz

OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

At issue is the propriety under Fed. R.Evid. 405(a) of a question posed during the cross-examination of a fact witness who had testified as to defendant’s honesty. The question asked the witness to assume certain facts in contention and to indicate whether such facts would alter her opinion.

Defendants Michael P. Oshatz (“Oshatz”) and Leonard A. Messinger (“Messinger”), both lawyers in the same firm, have been charged with tax fraud for allegedly generating false tax losses through various partnerships that traded fraudulently in government securities and…