Skilling Seeks New Trial

Jeff Skilling’s lawyer has presented arguments for a new trial to a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit. The centerpiece of his case, of course, is the Supreme Court’s ruling that “honest services” fraud was limited to bribery and kickbacks, neither of which were involved in the Skilling case. The government, in its counter-acrgument, alleged that “honest services” fraud was barely mentioned to the jury and that the essence of Skilliing’s offense was deceiving the investing public.