United States Ninth Circuit

In an honest services fraud prosecution involving two former San Diego City Council members, one defendant's convictions are affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err by basing the denial of defendant's motion for acquittal on the statements of co-conspirators; 2) there was sufficient evidence to find a quid pro quo relationship between defendant's promised actions and the political contributions at issue; and 3) private gain is not an element of honest services fraud. The grant of the other defendant's motions for acquittal and new trial are also affirmed where the evidence did not permit a finding of a quid pro quo relationship beyond a reasonable doubt with respect to that defendant because there was neither an explicit promise nor a connection of a campaign promise to a contribution.

Appellate Information

• Argued 06/03/2008
• Decided 09/01/2009
• Published 09/01/2009

Judges

• CANBY, Circuit Judge:, Before: WILLIAM C. CANBY, JR., JAY S. BYBEE and MILAN D. SMITH, JR., Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Demetra Lambros, Attorney, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for the plaintiff-appellee/appellant., Benjamin L. Coleman, Coleman & Balogh, LLP, San Diego, CA, for the defendant-appellant., Dennis P. Riordan, Riordan & Horgan, San Francisco, CA, for the defendant-appellee.