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'Obtainable Property' and the Mail and Wire Fraud Statutes
Announced the same morning as its landmark rulings on same-sex marriage, the Supreme Court's invalidation of a Hobbs Act conviction in Sekhar v. United States will not be the best-remembered decision of the last day of its 2012-13 Term. Yet for white-collar practitioners, Sekhar could prove significant indeed. The decision coins a new legal term ' “obtainable property” ' that not only will govern future Hobbs Act prosecutions, but also could limit the scope of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes.
The Decision in Sekhar
In Sekhar, the general counsel of New York State's pension fund had recommended to the State Comptroller that the State not invest with a fund managed by Giridhar C. Sekhar. The general counsel then received a series of anonymous e-mails threatening to disclose to his wife, the press and New York officials that he was having an extramarital affair, unless he changed his recommendation and urged that Sekhar's fund be awarded the investment. The e-mails were subsequently traced to Sekhar, who was charged with, and convicted of, attempted extortion in violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. ' 1951(a), and interstate transmission of extortionate threats, in violation of 18 U.S.C. ' 875(d).
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Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
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