Lawyers at today’s sentencing hearing for Anthony and Harriet Jinwright apparently will have a bit more wrangling to do.

According to a court document filed earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney will first rule on a government motion to strike parts of the pre-sentence report submitted by Anthony Jinwright’s lawyers. Prosecutors contend that portions of the report – including Anthony Jinwrights’ expert report -- are “untimely.”

By law, pre-sentence reports are sealed, so the nature of the documents in question could not be determined. But in a memo to lawyers, Whitney said the government “has made a prima facie showing that Defendant A.L. Jinwright’s last minute pleadings are untimely.”

The memo also revealed that Whitney denied a government motion to delay sentencing because of the documents in question.

In that same memo, the judge also ordered attorneys for both sides to be “ready to explain in detail why recent last minute pleadings were filed in WHOLE under seal.”

“The court has a duty to provide an open courtroom,” the judge wrote, “and the parties are routinely filing WHOLE pleadings under seal although some or most of the pleadings appears to exceed the scope of automatic sealing under Local Criminal Rule 55.1(H)...”

The Jinwrights, who co-pastor Greater Salem Church in West Charlotte, were convicted in May on multiple counts related to conspiracy and tax evasion.

Prosecutors said the couple failed to report more than $2.3 million in taxable income from 2002 to 2007 and failed to pay nearly $700,000 in federal taxes.

Anthony Jinwright, 54, was convicted on 13 of 18 charges, including conspiracy and multiple counts of filing false tax returns and tax evasion. The charges carry a maximum punishment of 53 years in prison. He was acquitted on five counts of mail fraud.

Harriet Jinwright, 51, was found guilty on four of 13 charges, including conspiracy and tax evasion. Those charges carry a maximum of 20 years in prison. She was acquitted on three counts of tax evasion and six counts of filing false tax returns.

The hearing is set to begin at 9 a.m.

***
CharlotteObserver.com contributed to this report.

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