⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Ninth Circuit reviews Allen Gessen's murder-for-hire conviction under 18 U.S.C. Section 1958. Gessen will argue that the recorded conversations showed at most a plan to abduct or remove his estranged wife from the country, not an agreement that she be killed for payment. He will also challenge an undercover agent's testimony interpreting their coded language and argue that Northern California was not a proper place to prosecute the case. Gessen also challenges evidence of earlier parental abductions. The United States will answer that the recordings, planning, payment, and Gessen's own testimony supported the verdict; that the agent described his own understanding as a participant; that the earlier acts showed motive and intent; and that messages and money received in San Francisco made venue proper.

United States v. Gessen (No. 24-2979) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued July 7, 2026.