Legal Commentary

5th Cir. to Hear Skilling's Enron Appeal Tomorrow

By Jeralyn

Former Enron CFO Jeff Skilling, serving a 24 year sentence in federal prison, gets his day in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals tomorrow.

By all accounts, he has a very good chance of getting a reversal on most of the counts he was convicted on.

Skilling could be freed from prison pending a new trial, or be relieved of criminal convictions altogether. And the government, which hasn't fared well in most other Enron appeals, could lose its biggest prize in the Enron scandal.

Thanks to an appeals ruling in a separate Enron case, issued less than two months after Skilling was convicted in 2006, legal experts say Skilling has a strong chance to get most — and perhaps all — of his 19 convictions overturned.

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What was the error?

That error, as cited in Skilling's appeal, was prosecutors' contention that his behavior robbed Enron of his "honest services." The government used that argument in obtaining a conspiracy conviction that was linked to most of Skilling's 18 other convictions.

Soon after Skilling's trial, an appeals panel rejected the "honest services" theory prosecutors used in gaining convictions against participants in Enron's sale of three barge-mounted power plants — which the government alleged was a disguised loan.

The 2-1 ruling said that the "honest services" issue didn't apply because the defendants didn't steal, embezzle or otherwise take money or property, and their actions were aligned with corporate goals.

The judges hearing the appeal will be 5th Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, 5th Circuit Judge Edward Prado and U.S. District Judge Alia Ludlum of Del Rio. Smith was one of the judges on the panel that overturned the convictions of Kevin Howard, the former finance chief for Enron's broadband division. I'm a big fan of Judge Prado (he was an early vocal opponent of mandatory minimum sentences.)

As for Skilling, I think 24 years is way too harsh a sentence for any non-violent criminal. Especially when other culpable defendants get 6 years because they cooperated and told the Government's truth. I hope he wins his appeal.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 02, 2008 (boomark / email).