041059P.pdf   08/05/2005  United States  v.  James R. Nichols
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  04-1059
                          and No:  04-1062
   Western District of Missouri   
   [PUBLISHED] [Smith, Author, with Heaney and Colloton, Circuit 
   Judges] 
   Criminal case - criminal law. District court did not err in refusing to 
   sever defendants' cases as their defenses were not irreconcilable, the case 
   was not complex and the evidence could be compartmentalized and 
   considered against each defendant independently; district court did not err 
   in refusing to declare a mistrial when the jury accidentally received a box 
   of materials not admitted into evidence because the jurors stated they did 
   not review any of the documents; applying Pirani's plain error analysis, 
   neither defendant was entitled to Booker relief as they have not 
   demonstrated a reasonable probability that the district court would have 
   imposed a lesser sentence under an advisory guidelines scheme; 
   considering all of the evidence, the district court did not err in 
   determining that the loss from defendants' scheme exceeded $20 million; 
   district court did not err in imposing an obstruction of justice 
   enhancement based on its finding that defendant Nichols perjured 
   himself during his testimony; evidence was sufficient to support 
   defendant Nichols' conviction for money laundering; venue was proper in 
   Western Missouri as much of the fraud was perpetrated in Missouri; 
   district court did not err in refusing to admit proposed expert testimony 
   concerning the tenets of defendant Nichols' church, as the proposed 
   testimony was not relevant. Judge Heaney, concurring.