Former New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Sol Wachtler’s oft-quoted quip about prosecutors enjoying the power to indict ham sandwiches has not amused the U.S. Supreme Court, judging from a recent spate of cases.
The high court has overturned convictions constituting various types of prosecutorial overreaching, and among the many notable cases from the 2023-24 term windup, it cut down Snyder v. United States and Fischer v. United States. Justice Brett Kavanagh’s opinion in Snyder catalogues cases such as McDonnell, Percoco, Cimenelli, Kelly, Skilling et al.