Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal of Enron’s Jeffrey Skilling

The decision—aside from a personal victory for Skilling—is a sign that the high court is considering curbing use of the “honest services” fraud statute to prosecute corporate corruption.

The move surprised some commentators, who noted that the court had already agreed to hear two other cases involving the relevant law, which makes it a crime to “deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.” These include cases brought by former Alaskan legislator Bruce Weyhrauch and media mogul Conrad Black. The law has been frequently used to prosecute executives for corporate corruption.

In an article Wednesday, the New York Times commented, “The court’s typical practice when appeals in similar cases are already pending is to hold the later cases until the earlier ones have been decided.”

The court has declined to hear some 2,000 cases filed for its fall term, including several that involve fundamental questions of democratic rights. However, the well-financed attempt by the former Enron executive to get out of prison is, for the court, deserving of a special hearing.

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