John Hinton

B.A., Union College, Schenectady, NY; J.D., Dickinson School of Law, Carlisle, PA. Professor Hinton is an appellate attorney in The Criminal Appeals & Tax Enforcement Policy Section (CATEPS) of the Tax Division, United States Department of Justice. CATEPS represents the United States in the federal appellate courts in matters arising from tax prosecutions, and CATEPS attorneys are regular instructors at annual Criminal Tax Institutes conducted at the Justice Department’s National Advocacy Center. CATEPS provides a vital contribution to the Tax Division’s Federal Tax Enforcement Program, which was established to ensure the maintenance of uniform national prosecution standards for criminal tax cases, and thereby to encourage voluntary compliance with the revenue laws. Prior to joining CATEPS, Professor Hinton was a prosecutor assigned to the Southern Criminal Enforcement Section of the Tax Division, a trial attorney assigned to the Constitutional Torts Section of the Civil Division, and a United States Army judge advocate. From 1990 - 2001, Professor Hinton served as a prosecutor in the Tax Division’s Southern Region. Initially he was detailed to the Dallas Bank Fraud Task Force, and from 1992 - 1994, he was the supervisory attorney of the Dallas Criminal Field Office, a component of the Tax Division established to support the Task Force. Professor Hinton was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of complex criminal cases involving bank fraud, tax fraud, bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. He coordinated criminal proceedings with parallel civil actions conducted by the Resolution Trust Corporation and other administrative agencies, and he authored periodic reports for use by the Tax Division in its response to Congressional inquiries. From 1995 - 2001, as a senior trial attorney in Southern Region, Professor Hinton reviewed, investigated, and prosecuted numerous criminal tax cases, with emphasis in mob-related motor fuel excise tax fraud, corporate tax fraud, and sham commercial transactions. He lectured on criminal tax law and trial advocacy at IRS and Justice Department professional development seminars, and co-authored an article for the USA Bulletin on legal issues arising in the prosecution of pro se defendants. From 1987 - 1990, Professor Hinton served as a trial attorney in the Constitutional Torts Section of the Civil Division. In this capacity he conducted defensive civil litigation on behalf of federal employees who had been sued in their personal capacities. Among his clients were federal judges and senior military and cabinet-level officers. He co-authored the military immunity section of the Constitutional Torts Trial Practice Manual. From 1981 - 1987, Professor Hinton was an Army lawyer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He investigated and prosecuted a wide variety of crimes, including kidnapping, sexual assault, robbery, narcotics trafficking, vehicular homicide, false claims, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and violations of the national security laws. He frequently lectured on search and seizure, confessions, and the law of land warfare.