Ciminelli v. United States
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21-1170 | 2nd Cir. | Nov 28, 2022 | May 11, 2023 | 9-0 | Thomas | OT 2022 |
Holding: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit"s right-to-control theory " under which the government can establish federal wire fraud by showing that the defendant schemed to deprive a victim of potentially valuable economic information necessary to make discretionary economic decisions " cannot form the basis for a conviction under the federal fraud statutes because the right to control is not grounded in a traditional property interest.
Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Thomas on May 11, 2023. Justice Alito filed a concurring opinion.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Court narrows scope of federal wire fraud statutes (David Kwok, May 12, 2023)
- In New York bid-rigging case, justices are dubious of the right to control theory of fraud (David Kwok, November 28, 2022)
- A sharp business deal or a federal crime? Justices will review what counts as fraud in government contracting. (David Kwok, November 25, 2022)
- December argument session will feature divisive cases on election law, First Amendment (Amy Howe, October 18, 2022)
- Clean-up conference prompts three new grants, lots of separate writings (Amy Howe, June 30, 2022)
- The (likely) last grants of October Term 2021 (John Elwood, June 29, 2022)
- The Buffalo Billion plan and Montana easement cases (Andrew Hamm, March 11, 2022)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| 01/07/2022 | Application (21A298) granted by Justice Sotomayor extending the time to file until March 1, 2022. |
| 02/18/2022 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 28, 2022) |
| 03/23/2022 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 28, 2022 to April 27, 2022, submitted to The Clerk. |
| 03/24/2022 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including April 27, 2022. |
| 03/24/2022 | Brief amicus curiae of New York Council of Defense Lawyers filed. VIDED. |
| 04/05/2022 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 27, 2022 to May 24, 2022, submitted to The Clerk. |
| 04/07/2022 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including May 24, 2022. |
| 05/24/2022 | Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed. VIDED. |
| 06/06/2022 | Reply of petitioner Louis Ciminelli filed. (Distributed) |
| 06/07/2022 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/23/2022. |
| 06/29/2022 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/29/2022. |
| 06/30/2022 | Petition GRANTED. |
| 07/12/2022 | Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed. |
| 07/22/2022 | Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including August 29, 2022. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including October 12, 2022. |
| 08/29/2022 | Brief of petitioner Louis Ciminelli filed. |
| 08/29/2022 | Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed) |
| 08/29/2022 | Brief of respondent Alain Kaloyeros in support of petitioner filed. |
| 08/29/2022 | Brief of respondents Steven Aiello and Joseph Gerardi in support of petitioner filed. |
| 09/06/2022 | Brief amici curiae of Law Professors filed. |
| 09/06/2022 | Amicus brief of New York Council of Defense Lawyers not accepted for filing.(Corrected version submitted) (September 13, 2022) |
| 09/06/2022 | Brief amicus curiae of New York Council of Defense Lawyers filed.(Sep. 13, 2022) |
| 09/06/2022 | Brief amicus curiae of Associated General Contractors of America, Inc filed. |
| 09/06/2022 | Brief amicus curiae of The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed. |
| 09/06/2022 | Brief amicus curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America in support of neither party filed. |
| 10/07/2022 | Record received from the U.S.D.C. Southern District of New York. The documents are Sealed Impounded. ( One envelope ). Also one CD with Sealed documents has been electronically filed. |
| 10/12/2022 | Brief of respondent United States filed. |
| 10/18/2022 | SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, November 28, 2022. |
| 10/25/2022 | CIRCULATED. |
| 10/28/2022 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 2nd Circuit. |
| 11/14/2022 | Reply of petitioner Louis Ciminelli filed. (Distributed) |
| 11/14/2022 | Reply of respondents Steven Aiello and Joseph Gerardi in support of petitioner filed. (Distributed) |
| 11/14/2022 | Reply of respondent Alain Kaloyeros in support of petitioner filed. (Distributed) |
| 11/28/2022 | Argued. For petitioner: Michael R. Dreeben, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Eric J. Feigin, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. |
| 05/11/2023 | Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Thomas, J., delivered the <a href = 'https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-1170_b97d.pdf'>opinion</a> for a unanimous Court. Alito, J., filed a concurring opinion. |
| 06/12/2023 | Judgment issued. |