Attorney Robert T. Torres represents Xinzhou Ren who has been charged with making a false statement to a federal agency and with improper entry into the United States by false statement.
In his objection, Torres said the prosecution proposes the following language in the jury instruction: “First, defendant made a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation.”
Torres said “this goes beyond the language provided by the Ninth Circuit’s Manual of Model Criminal Jury Instructions Rule 8.73.”
He added that his client is accused of making a false statement only, without any reference to any fraudulent representation.
“By proposing its current language, the [prosecution] is attempting to enlarge the scope of alleged crime beyond the scope of the indictment,” Torres said.
Ren’s jury trial will start on Feb. 6, 2020 at 1 p.m.
