June 24, 2010

Skilling v. United States: Supreme Court Rules Against Broad Use of Honest Services Statute; Does Not Grant New Trial on Pre-Trial Publicity Grounds

Posted by Christine Hurt

So, I'm sure we'll all have a lot more to say here, but the opinion in Skilling v. United States has been released. For the corporate law folks among us, the Court seems to have narrowed the theft of honest services statute to activity such as bribery and kickbacks, and says Skilling did not violate the statute. However, the Court did not reverse and remand on all counts, leaving to lower courts to decide whether that count unfairly colored the any or all of the other counts in his conviction.

Skilling was also hoping for a new trial on the grounds of pretrial publicity, but the court did not agree either that the venue was unfairly prejudicial or that voir dire did not ensure a non-prejudiced jury.

This is all from the quick read. More later.

UPDATE: Forgot to link to the opinion. I deprived you of some honest services there, but hey, it's not a federal crime.

Enron, Supreme Court | Bookmark