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Extracted Text (OCR)
Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document566- Filed 12/28/21 Page2of7
The Honorable Alison J. Nathan
December 27, 2021
Page 2
Constructive Amendment / Variance
First, without further instruction, the jury could convict Ms. Maxwell based on a
constructive amendment and/or prejudicial variance from the S2 Indictment. The Court has
recently explained the law on constructive amendment and variance. “To prevail on a constructive
amendment claim, a defendant must demonstrate that the terms of [an] indictment are in effect
altered by the presentation of evidence and jury instructions which so modify essential elements of
the offense charged that there is a substantial likelihood that the defendant may have been
convicted of an offense other than that charged in the indictment.” United States v. Gross, No. 15-
cr-769 (AJN), 2017 WL 4685111, at *20 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 18, 2017) (cleaned up). “Because the
doctrine of constructive amendment protects a defendant’s Grand Jury Clause rights, a
constructive amendment constitutes a ‘per se violation’ of the defendant’s constitutional rights—
i.e. there is no requirement that a defendant make a specific showing of prejudice.” /d. (quoting
United States v. D’Amelio, 683 F.3d 412, 417 (2d Cir. 2012).
Although the Second Circuit has “consistently permitted significant flexibility” in how the
government proves the crime alleged, the defendant must be “given notice of the core of
criminality to be proven at trial.” /d. (cleaned up). “[A]lthough an indictment ‘drawn in general
terms’ may articulate a broad core of criminality, an indictment that is drawn in specific terms
may be read to specify a narrower set of facts—such that the proof of completely distinct facts at
trial could lead to a constructive amendment.” /d. (quoting United States v. Wozniak, 126 F.3d
105, 109-10 (2d Cir. 1997)).
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00008791.jpg |
| File Size | 647.7 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.8% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 1,868 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:38:14.836115 |