American Idol 2012 finale
Rollover crash injures 2
News hounds (5/24/12)
Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2010 > June > 24
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Supreme Court rules on ‘honest services’, impact to Fox trial unclear
A lengthy opinion handed down today, June 24, by the U.S. Supreme Court could impact charges against longtime Butler County politician Michael Fox and others facing fraud charges across the country.
Ruling in the case of former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, the high court unanimously narrowed the scope of a federal “honest services” fraud law frequently used to go after white-collar crime suspects.
A trial for Fox — former state lawmaker, county commissioner and Children Services director — was postponed by a federal judge in March pending the outcome of the Skilling case. The court has scheduled a conference for Wednesday, June 30, to discus proceeding in the Fox case.
Fred Alverson, spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office, said it’s too early to know how the Supreme Court decision will affect the eight-count indictment against Fox.
“We’re reviewing it now…to determine what impact if any it might have on the charges pending against Mrs. Fox and (co-defendant Robert) Schuler,” Alverson said. Defense attorneys are also examining over the ruling.
“We don’t know what impact it’s going to have on Mr. Fox’s case,” said Aaron Herzig, one of Fox’s defense attorneys. “What it looks like is the statute (Fox is charged under) is not unconstitutional, but they have narrowed it.
“But how they narrowed it and what that’s going to mean for Mr. Fox’s case is (unclear),” Herzig said.
Fox and Schuler, a Columbus-area attorney, were charged in October 2009 with conspiring to improperly benefit off a contract to build Butler County’s fiber optics network.
Fox is accused of not properly reporting roughly $460,000 from Schuler and other vendors doing business with the county when Fox was a commissioner.
Fox is also charged with mail fraud for allegedly failing to disclose conflicts of interest in Ohio ethics disclosure statements he mailed each year from 2004 through 2007.
Schuler also is charged with perjury for alleged false testimony he gave to a federal grand jury on Oct. 1, 2008.
In their ruling Thursday, justices were unanimous in imposing limits on the use of the law, but left it to a lower appeals court to determine whether Skilling’s conviction should be overturned.
The “honest services” law has been criticized as vague, subjecting people to prosecution for mistakes and minor transgressions in the business and political worlds. Skilling asked that it be struck down as unconstitutional.
But the court, in an opinion written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, said prosecutors may continue to seek honest services fraud convictions in cases where they put forward evidence that defendants accepted bribes or kickbacks.
“Because Skilling’s misconduct entailed no bribe or kickback, he did not conspire to commit honest-services fraud under our confined construction” of the law, Ginsburg said. Three justices, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, would have found the law unconstitutional.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: NORMAP
Liberty Twp. Tea Party announces non-profit status
Press release from the Liberty Twp. Tea Party:
The Liberty Township Tea Party is pleased to announce that it has incorporated as a Non Profit Corporation with the State of Ohio. We have taken this step to better reflect our mission of education and service to the Liberty Township Community. This will also improve our ability to raise and manage funds. After evaluating all the options available to us the incorporation as a 501c3 provides us and our membership the greatest benefit. We remain a Community Group aligned with the Cincinnati Tea Party and in particular working in concert with the Tea Parties of Butler County.
We will continue to focus on providing the community with Candidate Nights as we did in the past primary election. We will provide varied speakers at our meetings from all spectrums of the political aisle in an effort to inform and educate. And we welcome all members of the community to our meetings as we never ask what your political affiliation is. Our committees will always work to understand what the issues are and to provide our membership with the facts to make decisions on their own.
Please visit us at www.libertytownshipteaparty.org. The Liberty Township Tea Party is a grassroots, non-partisan, organization of private citizens united by our shared values and deep concern about excessive regulation and wasteful government spending. We have three core beliefs: 1.) Fiscal Responsibility 2.) Limited Government 3.) and Free Markets. We were founded in the summer of 2009 with a desire to organize with like-minded individuals; with an interest to educate ourselves, and others, about significant current events that are negatively impacting our country and families; and with a commitment to work in concert with other concerned citizens to bring about positive, public policies that are consistent with our core values. We do not endorse individual candidates or specific causes. The Liberty Township Tea Party is a community group aligned with the Cincinnati Tea Party organization.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Republican Party
