Supreme Court to Rule on Anti-Corruption Law Used Against South Florida Officials
As Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorneys, we were interested to see that a law with major implications for South Florida government is going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. According to a Jan. 31 article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the court is expected to rule in the next few months on the legality of a federal law that has sent several politicians to prison in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The “honest services fraud” law is a 28-word add-on to the federal law prohibiting wire and mail fraud. It can be used in private business, but is most often used to criminally charge government figures who are accused of using their offices to get material advantages that don’t meet the stricter definition of bribes. In the Supreme Court case, an Alaska politician convicted of corruption is challenging the law as unconstitutionally vague.
In Weyhrauch v. United States, former Alaska state senator Bruce Weyhrauch was convicted of failing to disclose that he was seeking employment with an oil company before he voted in that firm’s interest on a tax bill. In South Florida, politicians were prosecuted for honest services fraud for actions like taking money to help businesses get municipal contracts, or using decision-making power to profit from secret land deals. Prosecutors like the law because it allows them to prosecute politicians who didn’t accept an outright bribe, but still lined their pockets instead of working for taxpayers. Detractors say the statute is so broad that it’s impossible for an average person to understand what’s prohibited. The language of the law says “For the purposes of this chapter, the term ‘scheme or artifice to defraud’ includes a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.”
We know arguing in favor of allegedly corrupt politicians does not always make attorneys popular. But as West Palm Beach criminal defense lawyers, we agree that the language of the law seems like it may be overly broad. The article quoted Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who observed that the law could prohibit using personal or political influence to get a restaurant reservation. In fact, depriving someone of honest services could be an act as small as goofing off at work. Without clarity about what the law actually prohibits, both public and private employees are at risk of prosecution for any action the local prosecutors don’t happen to like. This not only creates injustice, but opens the door to politically motivated prosecutions that abuse the law.
Balliro Seltzer LLC is a full-service criminal defense law firm with years of experience trying cases in South Florida. Unlike many of our competitor law firms, we never start a case planning and expecting to set up a plea bargain. Our Miami criminal defense attorneys are happy to arrange a plea when it suits the client’s needs or wishes -- but if the circumstances demand it, we can and will go to trial. In fact, as former public defenders and prosecutors, we have handled hundreds of trials in South Florida. Our experience has led us to believe strongly in the importance of forming a partnership with our clients, which means allowing and encouraging clients to actively participate in their own defense. This includes clear communication, frequent updates and always respecting the fact that decisions are ultimately up to the clients whose futures are at stake.
If you’re charged with a criminal offense in South Florida, you should call Balliro Seltzer as soon as possible. We are available 24 hours a day and seven days a week, so we can take your call whenever you need us. You can call 1-866-ARRESTED toll-free from anywhere in Florida or send us an email through our site.
