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In the Courts
Eleventh Circuit Rejects Vagueness Challenge to Honest-Services Mail Fraud Conviction
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On March 13, 2013, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the conviction of Anthony Nelson for honest-services fraud based on his work as a lobbyist while serving as the Chairman of Jacksonville, FL's, Port Authority. United States v. Nelson, 712 F.3d 498 (2013). Nelson had challenged the mail fraud statute by arguing that it is unconstitutionally vague as applied to his conduct, basing his argument in large part on Justice Antonin Scalia's concurrence in Skilling v. United States, 130 S. Ct. 2896 (2010).
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Nelson was the Chairman of the Board of Directors for JaxPort, the entity responsible for overseeing public seaport terminals in Jacksonville. He worked part-time and was unpaid for his services. During his tenure as chairman, Nelson was also a lobbyist for Subaqueous Services, Inc. (SSI), one of JaxPort's private dredging contractors. Although Nelson, in his capacity as JaxPort Chairman, did not vote on any matter concerning SSI, he did receive a monthly “consulting fee” of $8,500; and he persuaded JaxPort to approve certain orders and take certain other actions in its contracts that would benefit SSI. Id. at 502-503. Eventually, Nelson's conduct resulted in an investigation by JaxPort's ethics officer, in which he disclosed the fact that he received payments from SSI for “access” to JaxPort. Id. at 503.
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