Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former chief executive of Enron is appealing his conviction to the Supreme Court on the grounds that he had not received a fair trial and the law he was sentenced under was too vague. He believes his trial was impartial because it took place in Houston, the city where Enron was located, and, as such, the city that played home to the majority of the victim’s of the company’s demise.
The law Skilling is challenging states it is illegal to “deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.” It has so far been used by prosecutors to fight corruption and fraud, as it can be used even in cases where no theft is involved. But according to Skilling and his Houston criminal lawyer, the law is too broad to be enforceable. They also believe the law should only be used against those who have made some measurable gain. The brief filed in the courts explained that Skillet’s action “even if wrongful in some way, was not the crime of honest-services fraud, because the government conceded that his acts were not intended to advance his own interests instead of Enron’s.”
He has already appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of appeals, who accepted many of his arguments, but refused to add a “private gain” rule to the law. The court did, however, vacate his existing sentence of 24 years in prison and $45 million in restitution. He has not yet been resentenced.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the case in December.
To learn more about this case, read the article in the New York Times. Image Via Benjamin Chun [Flickr]
Tags: appeals, challenging laws, enron, federal crimes, supreme court
[...] blog has previously mentioned Enron chief Jeffrey K. Skilling’s appeal to the Supreme Court about the vagueness of the “honest services” law he was convicted [...]