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Honest Services And Dishonest Prosecutions, William D. Corriher

William D Corriher

The paper discusses Skilling v. United States, the recent Supreme Court case involving 18 U.S.C. § 1346, the federal statute prohibiting 'honest services" fraud. It begins by discussing the history of this form of fraud, from its origin in case law to its statutory form to the new definition articulated in Skilling. The background section goes on to discuss recent prosecutions under the statute, both corporate corruption cases and politically motivated prosecutions of public officials. The analysis section argues that it was inappropriate for the Skilling Court to redefine honest services fraud, because such a revision of a federal crime …