In United States v. Silver, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated former Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver’s conviction on several counts for the second time in two and a half years. The decision reflects the court’s increasingly narrow theory of bribery, one that increases the government’s burden for proving that an official engaged in a quid pro quo, which is necessary to sustain a public corruption conviction. In an opinion written by U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Wesley and joined by Circuit Judge Richard J. Sullivan, the Second Circuit held that honest services fraud and Hobbs Act extortion require specificity in the jury instructions as to the question or matter to be influenced by the official, and that the district court’s jury instructions failed to convey this limitation.

While reversing his conviction on three of the counts, the court affirmed Silver’s conviction on four other counts, holding that the error in the jury instructions was harmless. In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier insisted that, despite its narrowing effect, Silver does not represent a significant change in the law.

Prior Proceedings in ‘Silver’

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