In 2005, a jury convicted Robles and Garrido [and sentenced to them to 10 years and 51 month prison terms, respectively] based on an
indictment that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal said [in their review of the convictions] was "ambiguous at best."
,
The 9th Circuit stated: "After reviewing the trial record as a whole, we
conclude that there is a reasonable probability that the jury convicted
Robles and Garrido of honest services fraud based on their failure to
disclose a conflict of interest," the panel wrote. "Because of the
emphasis on the conflict of interest theory in the jury instructions and
in the closing arguments, we find that the error affected the
Appellants' substantial rights."
.
While "there is
evidence in the record that could support a bribery or kickback
conviction," the panel wrote, " nevertheless, it is impossible to
conclude that the jury convicted Robles and Garrido based on their
participation in either a bribery or a kickback scheme instead of based
on Skilling's unconstitutional failure to disclose a conflict of interest."
.
The
9th Circuit panel reversed honest-services mail & wire fraud convictions on 21
counts against Robles and five counts against Garrido, while
acquitting Robles of two counts and Garrido of one count because
prosecutors, post-Skilling, admitted they had insufficient evidence.
.
In
addition, 9th Circuit panel reversed four money-laundering counts against
Robles because they "are predicated on the flawed honest services fraud
convictions," while upholding five of Robles' bribery counts.
.
In any county where vague and ambiguous indictments are seen all to often, this case should send a warning.
No comments:
Post a Comment