561 U.S. 358 (2010)
Skilling v. United States is a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States addressed the vague interpretation and application of the federal honest-services statute under 18 U.S.C.
Does the federal 'honest services' statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, apply to a case where the misconduct includes neither bribery nor kickback schemes?
The honest services statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, criminalizes schemes to defraud by denying another of the intangible right to honest services, but is limited to cases involving bribery or kickback schemes.
The Supreme Court held that the honest services statute covers only fraudulent schemes involving bribes or kickbacks. As a result, Skilling's conviction for honest services fraud could not stand because it involved neither bribery nor kickbacks.
The significance of Skilling v. United States lies in its clarification and limitation of the definition of 'honest services' fraud. Prior to this ruling, the statute had been criticized for its vagueness and potential for abuse given its broad and undefined applicability. By narrowing the statute's focus to schemes involving bribes and kickbacks, the Supreme Court provided a clearer guideline for lower courts and prosecutors, while simultaneously protecting individuals from facing charges based on subjective moral judgments rather than objective legal standards of guilt. For law students, this case serves as a foundational example of how statutory interpretation by the judiciary can define the contours of federal criminal law, ensuring adherence to the Constitutional requirement for legal precision.