Tax crimes suspect gets new trial judge

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Las Vegas businessman Robert Kahre will have a new judge for his trial on federal tax charges, a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Judge Robert Jones will be replaced in the tax trial for forbidding Kahre to add attorney Lisa Rasmussen to his legal defense team, the Las Vegas Review-Journal said Monday.

Defense lawyers had sought a writ of mandamus due to the judge's actions. The appeals court also removed a contempt charge against Kahre's lawyer, William Cohan, and ordered the case reassigned.

Yet the new trial will not serve as a retrial of Kahre, who was among nine defendants facing 161 counts of breaking tax laws.

The Review-Journal said the upcoming trial will focus on a new indictment against the businessman, who allegedly attempted to hide real estate properties by purchasing them under his relatives' names.