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Post-Gaming Skilling v. United States

By Gordon Smith, Christine, Hurt, Vic Fleischer, Fred Tung, Lisa Fairfax, David Zaring

So, the long-awaited Supreme Court argument in Skilling v. United States is over, and the first, brief analyses are hesitant to claim a winner.  The surprise (at least, for corporate law professors) is that much of the questioning concerned the change of venue issue and the pre-trial publicity surrounding the Houston trial of Skilling and Ken Lay.  The question of whether the theft of honest services statute is unconstitutionally vague was addressed, but (according to SCOTUSBlog), discussion may have been truncated because the justices have already decided this issue, which has been the subject of two other arguments this term.  (WSJ article here.)  Worth noting is that a win on the honest services conviction will not reverse Skilling's entire conviction; a favorable ruling on venue would give Skilling a new trial.

Full post as published by Conglomerate on March 01, 2010 (boomark / email).