No. 21-729

Shirene Hernandez v. United States

Lower Court: Ninth Circuit
Docketed: 2021-11-17
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: civil-rights criminal-law due-process federal-circuits fiduciary-duty honest-services-fraud ninth-circuit-precedent skilling-standard skilling-v-united-states statutory-interpretation
Key Terms:
ERISA
Latest Conference: 2021-12-10
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether after Skilling, the 'right of honest services' described in 18 U.S.C. § 1346 must be defined in relation to a specific fiduciary duty against bribes or kickbacks, rather than a fiduciary duty against self-dealing

Question Presented (from Petition)

QUESTION PRESENTED The Court avoided a “vagueness shoal” in Skilling by holding that 18 U.S.C. § 1346's prohibition on schemes targeting “the intangible right of honest services” forbids “only bribery and kickback schemes.” Skilling v. United States, 561 U.S. 358, 368 (2010). The statute does not prohibit “undisclosed self-dealing by a public official,” id. at 409, though Petitioner and many like her have been convicted on just such a theory. The question presented here is whether after Skilling, must the “right of honest services” described in 18 U.S.C. § 1346 be defined in relation to a specific fiduciary duty against bribes or kickbacks, rather than a fiduciary duty against self-dealing, as presently permitted by the Ninth Circuit?

Docket Entries

2021-12-13
Petition DENIED.
2021-11-23
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/10/2021.
2021-11-19
Waiver of right of respondent United States of America to respond filed.
2021-11-12
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 17, 2021)

Attorneys

Shirene Hernandez
Timothy Allen ScottSingleton, Schreiber, McKenzie & Scott, Petitioner
Timothy Allen ScottSingleton, Schreiber, McKenzie & Scott, Petitioner
United States of America
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent