Doug Berman (Ohio State) of our sister Sentencing Law & Policy Blog asks why the district court has set April 24 as the date for sentencing Wesley Snipes on his three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file tax returns:

Unless one believes that general deterrence should have no role at all in sentencing, it seems to me that this sentencing is scheduled about two weeks too late. Snipes’ sentencing will be a very high-profile punishment for failure to file tax returns, and it seems that society would benefit greatly by having this sentencing tax place right before Tax Day, April 15.

I previously blogged the reactions of eleven leading Tax Profs, including Neil Buchanan (George Washington), to Snipes’ acquittal on the most serious tax fraud and conspiracy charges.  Neil expands on his thoughts in Frivolous Tax Positions: Self-Incrimination and A Conviction Is a Conviction, and Wesley Snipes Was Convicted.

I also wonder what theory Snipes has for not paying the $70,000 of property taxes on his $8 million New Jersey home.