Download or read book The Honest Services of Public Officials written by Landmark Publications and published by . This book was released on 2019-12-09 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze and discuss issues surrounding the doctrine of honest-services fraud. Volume 1 of the casebook covers the District of Columbia Circuit and the First through the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. * * * It is not a defense to an honest-services fraud charge to claim that a public official would have lawfully performed the official action in question even without having accepted a thing of value. * * * A conviction for honest-services wire fraud requires proof that the defendant used wire communications in interstate commerce to carry out a "scheme or artifice to defraud," 18 U.S.C. § 1343, by depriving another of "the intangible right of honest services," id. § 1346. In Skilling, the Supreme Court construed § 1346 narrowly and held that honest-services fraud encompasses only bribery and kickback schemes. 561 U.S. at 408-09, 130 S.Ct. 2896. To define the scope of the honest-services statute's proscription of bribes and kickbacks, the Skilling Court directed courts to look to, inter alia, federal statutes defining similar crimes, such as 18 U.S.C. § 201(b), the principal federal bribery statute. See id. at 412-13 & n. 45, 130 S.Ct. 2896. * * * We follow the Supreme Court's direction in Skilling and look to § 201(b) to give substance to the prohibition on honest-services fraud. In United States v. Valle, we held that an official may be convicted of bribery under § 201(b)(2) "if he has corruptly entered into a quid pro quo, knowing that the purpose behind the payment that he has ... agreed to receive[] is to induce or influence him in an official act, even if he has no intention of actually fulfilling his end of the bargain." 538 F.3d 341, 347 (5th Cir.2008). Accordingly, pursuant to Valle, a conviction for bribery under § 201(b)(2) does not require proof that the official intended to be influenced in his official actions. See id. Viewed through Skilling's lens, Valle instructs that honest-services fraud also does not require such proof. See Skilling, 561 U.S. at 412, 130 S.Ct. 2896; Valle, 538 F.3d at 347. US v. Nagin, 810 F. 3d 348 (5th Cir. 2016)
Download or read book The Honest Services of Public Officials written by Landmark Publications and published by . This book was released on 2020-01-06 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THIS CASEBOOK is the portable edition of the title and covers all federal circuits. It contains a selection of U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze and discuss issues surrounding the doctrine of honest-services fraud. * * * It is not a defense to an honest-services fraud charge to claim that a public official would have lawfully performed the official action in question even without having accepted a thing of value. A conviction for honest-services wire fraud requires proof that the defendant used wire communications in interstate commerce to carry out a "scheme or artifice to defraud," 18 U.S.C. § 1343, by depriving another of "the intangible right of honest services," id. § 1346. In Skilling, the Supreme Court construed § 1346 narrowly and held that honest-services fraud encompasses only bribery and kickback schemes. 561 U.S. at 408-09, 130 S.Ct. 2896. To define the scope of the honest-services statute's proscription of bribes and kickbacks, the Skilling Court directed courts to look to, inter alia, federal statutes defining similar crimes, such as 18 U.S.C. § 201(b), the principal federal bribery statute. See id. at 412-13 & n. 45, 130 S.Ct. 2896. We follow the Supreme Court's direction in Skilling and look to § 201(b) to give substance to the prohibition on honest-services fraud. In United States v. Valle, we held that an official may be convicted of bribery under § 201(b)(2) "if he has corruptly entered into a quid pro quo, knowing that the purpose behind the payment that he has ... agreed to receive[] is to induce or influence him in an official act, even if he has no intention of actually fulfilling his end of the bargain." 538 F.3d 341, 347 (5th Cir.2008). Accordingly, pursuant to Valle, a conviction for bribery under § 201(b)(2) does not require proof that the official intended to be influenced in his official actions. See id. Viewed through Skilling's lens, Valle instructs that honest-services fraud also does not require such proof. See Skilling, 561 U.S. at 412, 130 S.Ct. 2896; Valle, 538 F.3d at 347. US v. Nagin, 810 F. 3d 348 (5th Cir. 2016)
Download or read book The Honest Services of Public Officials written by Landmark Publications and published by . This book was released on 2019-12-29 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze and discuss issues surrounding the doctrine of honest-services fraud. Volume 2 of the casebook covers the Sixth through the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. * * * A defendant deprives the public of his honest services by accepting a bribe, as that act is defined by the federal bribery statute, 18 U.S.C. § 201. Under § 201, a public official may not seek or receive anything of value in return for "being influenced in the performance of any official act." 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(2). The statute defines an "official act," in turn, as "any decision or action on any question, matter, cause, suit, proceeding or controversy, which may at any time be pending, or which may by law be brought before any public official, in such official's official capacity, or in such official's place of trust or profit." Id. § 201(a)(3). United States v. Van Buren (11th Cir. 2019).
Download or read book Honest Government written by W J Michael Cody and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1992-09-30 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Americans deserve honest government. This text addresses the need for a comprehensive statement of ethical behavior for public officials and employees at every level of government. Recognizing the need for legal reforms that focus mainly on campaign contributions, the authors examine the broader question of how we should measure the routine, day-to-day ethics of men and women in public service. By focussing more on attitudes and practices, the authors suggest that the highest standard of both ethics and competence should be demanded of all our public servants. The book identifies situations in which officials ought to act cautiously and presents the ethical rules that should be applied to each situation. The text presents a philosophy of public service and then moves to particular situations to which this philosophy must be applied: campaign finance; the campaign itself; behavior of elected officials, appointed officials, and public employees; the role of lobbyists; compensation for public servants; moving to and from the public and private sectors; ethical guidelines for lawyers and judges; the private lives of public servants; and enforcement of ethics. The final chapter discusses the sometimes competing forces of ethics and competency. Ethical guidelines are gathered in the appendix and serve as a useful starting point for ethics in any public service setting. The combination of persuasive and thought-provoking proposals for governmental ethics reform along with practical guidelines on how to maintain the highest possible standards of ethical conduct makes this an important text for students in ethics and government courses, as well as an imperative reading for public officials, whether elected, appointed, or career.
Download or read book Criminalizing the Denial of Honest Services After Skilling written by Elizabeth R. Sheyn and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States Supreme Court's recent decision in Skilling v. United States is only the latest in a series of blows that the Court has dealt to the intangible rights theory of mail fraud (also known as honest services fraud). In Skilling, the Court considered the constitutionality of the so-called honest services statute, which criminalizes “scheme[s] or artifice[s][designed] to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services,” and narrowed its scope considerably by limiting the application of the statute to schemes to defraud involving bribes or kickbacks. The Court rejected the notion that the statute applies to undisclosed self-dealing by a public official or private employee and called on Congress to “speak more clearly” if it desired the statute “to go further.” To address criminal conduct that would no longer be penalized following the Court's drastic narrowing of the honest services statute, this Article provides recommendations concerning what the new honest services statute, which Congress would enact to replace the current, eviscerated statute, should look like. The considerations advanced in the Article aim to ensure that the new statute avoids potential federalism concerns, as well as the charges of vagueness that plagued the previous iterations of the honest services statute. Additionally, they provide a means of punishing truly criminal conduct that would otherwise fall outside the scope of the honest services statute (as it currently stands), the mail and wire fraud statutes, and 18 U.S.C. § 666. The Article strives to provide an outline of what the new honest services statute, which Congress would enact to replace the current, eviscerated statute, should look like. In doing so, it first traces the development of the intangible rights theory from its inception until present day. Then, it analyzes the Court's decision in Skilling. In light of Skilling, the Article examines the potential alternative means through which the government can pursue criminal conduct relating to the denial of honest services. Finally, the Article evaluates the cases that the new honest services fraud statute should address, provides recommendations for reform of the statute, and applies these recommendations to a recently proposed statute - the Honest Services Restoration Act.
Download or read book Model Rules of Professional Conduct written by American Bar Association. House of Delegates and published by American Bar Association. This book was released on 2007 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.
Download or read book Preserving a More Perfect Union written by Thomas Fredrick Rybarczyk and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The federal criminal law that serves as a principal protection against local and state political corruption faces extermination at the hands of the Supreme Court. For the past twenty years, federal prosecutors utilized one statute - the mail and wire fraud's prohibition against theft of a citizen's right to honest services - to stymie the most sophisticated state and local corruption schemes. The reason for its success: the statute's purposely vague language. The vague language allowed prosecutors to bend and shape the law to fit the contours of fraudulent schemes that did not match the precise elemental definitions of bribery or extortion. However, its vague language is also its biggest vice. The vagueness invites the potential prosecutorial overuse and abuse, which partly explains why the Court granted certiorari on three appeals in one term. This vague language has also caused confusion within and among the circuit courts. Their struggle to articulate an approach that balanced the law's prime policy goal against its purposely vague elements created a situation where federal criminal law applies differently depending upon which circuit's jurisdiction a defendant committed his or her act. This article advocates for Congress to enact an honest services fraud statute that cabins the law's reach while preserving its ability to criminalize acts undermining the republic's faith in its state and local representatives. This “public-trust preserving private gain” standard is a two-prong test I introduce that elevates substance over form. Borrowing heavily from tests established by the Sixth and Seventh Circuits, the standard's first prong requires proof that a defendant qualifies as a de facto or de jure public official who owes citizens a right to his or her honest services. The second prong requires prosecutors to show the defendant misused his or her position in order to obtain an economic private gain for himself, herself, or a third party. Then, the article analyzes the likely outcomes using the “public-trust preserving private gain” standard and the popular “state law limiting” approach adopted by two circuits in three state and local corruption scenarios. Comparing these two approaches against each other reveals that the “public-trust preserving private gain” standard ensures that public officials will not face charges for minor lapses in judgment without compromising the law's prime policy goal of protecting the public against its corrupt politicians and governors.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure written by Department of Defense and published by . This book was released on 2009-12-31 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Standards of Conduct Office of the Department of Defense General Counsel's Office has assembled an "encyclopedia" of cases of ethical failure for use as a training tool. These are real examples of Federal employees who have intentionally or unwittingly violated standards of conduct. Some cases are humorous, some sad, and all are real. Some will anger you as a Federal employee and some will anger you as an American taxpayer. Note the multiple jail and probation sentences, fines, employment terminations and other sanctions that were taken as a result of these ethical failures. Violations of many ethical standards involve criminal statutes. This updated (end of 2009) edition is organized by type of violations, including conflicts of interest, misuse of Government equipment, violations of post-employment restrictions, and travel.
Download or read book Crs Report for Congress written by Congressional Research Service: The Libr and published by BiblioGov. This book was released on 2013-10 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Guidelines Manual written by United States Sentencing Commission and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch written by United States. Office of Government Ethics and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Prosecution and Defense of Public Corruption written by Peter J. Henning and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2011-08-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Prosecution and Defense of Public Corruption: The Law and Legal Strategies is the first comprehensive, practice-oriented treatment of the law of public corruption in the U.S. legal market.
Download or read book The Law of Good People written by Yuval Feldman and published by . This book was released on 2018-06-07 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that overcoming people's inability to recognize their own wrongdoing is the most important but regrettably neglected area of the behavioral approach to law.
Download or read book Getting the Full Picture on Public Officials written by Ivana Maria Rossi and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2017-01-13 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Financial disclosure systems are a vital component of transparency. By now 161 countries around the world have introduced financial disclosure systems, becoming commonplace around the world. But, although the rules are on the books, many practitioners are still struggling with the intricacies of the rules and how to implement them in the socioeconomic, historical, and legal context of their own country. Little guidance is available to assist them. This book aims to fill that void and provide practitioners with practical scenarios to consider before deciding on a particular course of action. This book contains short chapters that elaborate each topic and provide clear guidance on the issues that policy makers and those involved in the implementation of financial disclosure obligations will need to take into account before making a decision. How do you decide who should file? And how often? On-line or in hard copy? And what exactly? Everything they own directly—or also those apartments they own indirectly? How should information in declarations be checked? Should it be shared with public? How accessible should it be? This is the sort of practical guidance that this book aims to provide.
Download or read book Code of Judicial Conduct for United States Judges written by American Bar Association and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book United States Attorneys Manual written by United States. Department of Justice and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book How Good People Make Tough Choices Rev Ed written by Rushworth M. Kidder and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-11-24 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This insightful and brilliant analysis of ethics teaches readers valuable skills in evaluating tough choices and arriving at sound conclusions. “A thought-provoking guide to enlightened and progressive personal behavior.” —Jimmy Carter An essential guide to ethical action updated for our challenging times, How Good People Make Tough Choices by Rushworth M. Kidder offers practical tools for dealing with the difficult moral dilemmas we face in our everyday lives. The founder and president of the Institute for Global Ethics, Dr. Kidder provides guidelines for making the important decisions in situations that may not be that clear cut—from most private and personal to the most public and global. Former U.S. senator and NBA legend Bill Bradley calls How Good People Make Tough Choices “a valuable guide to more informed and self-conscious moral judgments.”
