The Advice-of-Counsel Defense

In the federal case of the United States versus Michael McIntosh, Mr. McIntosh was charged with committing the crimes of bankruptcy fraud and money laundering because of his failure to disclose during his bankruptcy proceeding that he had received certain money and deposited some of that money into a bank account that he controlled through an unincorporated  business that he managed.

McIntosh's bankruptcy lawyer testified that he was aware of the existence of the unincorporated business but failed to inquire further and determine if its existence should have been disclosed to the Bankruptcy Court. The lawyer's failure to do that provided McIntosh with a legal defense, and the trial judge compounded the error by failing to tell the jury about McIntosh's defense.