Sufficiency of Evidence

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Criminal

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Officials: RIPPLE, WILLIAMS, and SYKES, Circuit Judges

Sufficiency of Evidence

No.14-2799 United States of America v. Daniel Dvorkin

Appellant repeated solicitation to arrange for a contract killing sufficient to uphold conviction.

“These contentions miss the mark. Starting with the solicitation element, neither § 373(a) nor § 1958 requires that a defendant reach an economic understanding or agreement in order to solicit a violation of § 1958. See Smith, 755 F.3d at 647 (noting that “§ 1958(a) does not require that [an] offer have been made or accepted before the statute is violated”); United States v. Barefoot, 754 F.3d 226, 238 (4th Cir. 2014) (noting that “a straightforward request or directive fulfills the [solicitation] element of § 373(a)”).25 Rather, the Government merely was required to show that Mr. Dvorkin requested or “endeavor[ed] to persuade” Bevis to engage in conduct proscribed by § 1958. 18 U.S.C. § 373(a). At trial, the Government argued that Mr. Dvorkin solicited Bevis to violate § 1958 on two occasions: (1) on April 6, when he offered Bev‐ is $50,000 to procure the murder of Meyer and gave him information on Meyer’s Texas whereabouts, and (2) on April 18, when Mr. Dvorkin instructed Bevis to convince the Florida hitman to accept $50,000 in exchange for killing Meyer. These communications are each more than sufficient to sustain the jury’s finding of solicitation. “

Affirmed.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.