Percoco v. United States
| Percoco v. United States | |
|---|---|
| Argued November 28, 2022 Decided May 11, 2023 | |
| Full case name | Joseph Percoco, Petitioner v. United States, et al. |
| Docket no. | 21-1158 |
| Citations | 598 U.S. 319 (more) |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Opinion announcement | Opinion announcement |
| Case history | |
| Prior |
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| Questions presented | |
| Does a private citizen who holds no elected office or government employment, but has informal political or other influence over governmental decisionmaking, owe a fiduciary duty to the general public such that he can be convicted of honest-services fraud? | |
| Holding | |
| Instructing the jury based on the Second Circuit's 1982 decision in Margiotta on the legal standard for finding that a private citizen owes the government a duty of honest services was error. | |
| Court membership | |
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| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Alito, joined by Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett; Jackson (all but Part II-C-2) |
| Concurrence | Gorsuch (in judgment), joined by Thomas |
Percoco v. United States, 598 U.S. 319, is a 2023 United States Supreme Court case regarding the federal honest services fraud statute. In the case, the Court held that a private citizen with significant influence over government decision-making cannot be convicted of honest services fraud for actions taken while not holding public office.