Will Lauryn Hill raise novel 3553(a) issues at her tax evasion sentencing?
Eight-time Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill pleaded guilty Friday to not paying federal taxes on more than $1.5 million earned over three years. Appearing in U.S. District Court in Newark, Hill admitted failing to file tax returns from 2005 to 2007. She faces a maximum one-year sentence on each of the three counts. She was charged three weeks ago.
Dressed in a dark jacket, white button-up shirt and a long reddish-orange skirt, Hill declined to comment after Friday’s hearing. During the hearing, attorney Nathan Hochman indicated that Hill planned to pay back the taxes she owes. U.S. Magistrate Michael Shipp initially scheduled sentencing for early October but agreed to delay it until late November to give Hill time to make repayment….
After the charges were brought, Hill posted a long statement on her Tumblr page that decried pop culture’s “climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism.” She explained that she hasn’t paid taxes since she withdrew from society to guarantee the safety and well-being of herself and her family.
Hill hinted Friday that she might expand on those comments at her sentencing. When Shipp asked her if anyone had directly or indirectly influenced her decision to plead guilty, she replied, “Indirectly, I’ve been advised my ability to speak out directly is for another time, at sentencing.”
I look very much forward to seeing how Hill and her lawyers might be able to incorporate the faults of pop culture and its “climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism” into an argument via 3553(a) that a low sentence would be sufficient to avoid the miseducation of Lauryn Hill.