United States v. Chin, Docket No. 06-1048-cr (2d Cir. Jan. 30, 2007) (McLaughlin, Sack, Rakoff): This is yet another instance in which the Court scolds a prosecutor for sleazy misconduct at trial, but then renders its bite toothless by deeming harmless the misdeed. I suppose this is better than simply overlooking the misconduct, as the Court often does, but then I’m not the one who has to do the time.
Chin was charged with pretending to be an INS officer and defrauding aliens by telling them that he could obtain U.S. visas for them for a fee. To prove his guilt, the Government offered victim witnesses who said that they met with the defendant in China on particular dates. In his defense, Chin attempted to introduce into evidence credit-card receipts, complete with his signature, showing that he was actually in New York on the those same dates. The …