Is the 'Klein' Conspiracy Doctrine Doomed?
In his Tax Litigation Issues column, Jeremy H. Temkin discusses how a series of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions has eroded Klein's jurisprudential foundation, suggesting it is not a matter of if, but when, the doctrine falls.
November 15, 2023 at 10:00 AM
9 minute read
In United States v. Klein, 247 F.2d 908 (1957), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit interpreted the general federal conspiracy statute as encompassing any interference with the operations of the federal government through deceptive conduct. Since then, prosecutors have used the statute to reach a wide range of activity affecting government functions including union officials submitting certifications to the National Labor Relations Board falsely disavowing affiliation with the Communist party, Dennis v. United States, 384 U.S. 855, 857-58 (1966), an attorney interfering with a Federal Bureau of Prisons administrative measure by sharing a statement with a journalist on behalf of her incarcerated client, United States v. Stewart, 590 F.3d 93, 109-10 (2d Cir. 2009) and a distributor offering medical products that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, United States v. Ballistrea, 101 F.3d 827, 830-31 (2d Cir. 1996).
In United States v. Coplan, 703 F.3d 46 (2012), the Second Circuit cast doubt on the continuing viability of the so-called Klein doctrine, but ultimately concluded that it was "bound to follow the dictates of Supreme Court precedents." See Jeremy H. Temkin, "Time to Revisit the 'Klein' Conspiracy Doctrine," N.Y.L.J. (Jan. 25, 2013).
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