Supreme Court Strikes a Blow Against Overcriminalization
Brian Walsh /
Exposing the extent to which criminal law has expanded, the Supreme Court today narrowed the scope of the federal “honest services” fraud statute and called into question the validity of Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling’s conviction. Justice Sonia Sotomayor and two other “liberal” justices would have gone even further than the majority and granted Skilling a new trial. All nine justices agreed, however, that the government’s “honest services” theory overreached.
Using astoundingly vague, overbroad language, the “honest services” statute makes it a federal crime, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, for anyone to engage in a “scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right to honest services.” At best, such free-ranging criminalization operates as a trap for the unwary. At worst, it destroys lives.
Consider the 2006 conviction of Wisconsin civil servant Georgia Thompson. Thompson was in charge of procuring travel services for state employees. Her “honest services” violation was awarding a contract to the travel agency with the second-best service and lowest price. Neither Thompson nor anyone else was accused of taking a bribe, receiving a kickback, or having an interest in or connection with the winning bidder. (more…)