US v. Fattah — criminal — partial affirmance — Smith

[UPDATE: when I saw this opinion, I briefly thought, “wait, wasn’t that already decided? But the opinion wasn’t captioned as being amended as it normally would be, and I was distracted with something else, so I forgot to check and I just wrote a summary. Sorry. Today’s ruling amends the one the court issued back in August. Today’s opinion is 4 pages longer and, sorry again, I haven’t figured out yet what changed beyond the fact that the typeface is larger.]

In a sprawling 165-page, 12-section opinion, the Third Circuit today issued a mixed-bag opinion for former US Congressman Chaka Fattah Sr. and three co-defendants, vacating five counts of conviction, reversing judgements of acquittal on two counts, and otherwise affirming. The five vacated counts were for bribery and honest-services fraud, which the court vacated under the Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling in McDonnell v. US.

Joining Smith were Greenaway and Krause. Arguing counsel were: Jonathan Kravis for the government, Bruce Merenstein of Schnader for Fattah, Ann Flannery of Philadelphia for one co-defendant, Barry Gross of Drinker Biddle for another, and Glen Nager of Jones Day for the third. Video of the oral argument, which ran over two and half hours, is here.