Nacchio Files Petition for Cert

Joseph P. Nacchio, former CEO of Qwest Communications filed a Petition for Certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court.  He argues that the Tenth Circuit decision (en banc) conflicts with other circuits.  The decision in the 10th Circuit was split 5-4 (see here and here).  The issues presented in this Cert Petition are:

"1. Whether the defendant is entitled to acquittal or a new trial because the Tenth Circuit, in conflict with the standards applied in other circuits, erred by upholding the jury instructions bearing on the materiality of the type of information at issue, and by holding that there was sufficient evidence that the defendant failed to disclose material information and knew it.

2. Whether the judgment must be reversed and remanded for a new trial because the Tenth Circuit approved the use of impermissible procedures for the exclusion of expert testimony under Rule 702 that conflict with decisions of other circuits.

3. Whether the Tenth Circuit’s decision should be summarily reversed because it misapplied decisions of this Court, mischaracterized the district court’s reasoning, failed to resolve all the issues presented, and held that Nacchio failed to address an issue that was a principal focus of his brief."

There are several important issues in this case, such as whether a charge of insider trading is proper when "the allegedly material 'inside' information consisted of internal corporate risk assessments about financial results for future quarters." Another key issue in this case is the failure to admit the testimony of a defense witness.  With Daubert and rules related issues to consider, the importance of a defendant to present his or her defense is considered here.

Petition for Certiorari here - Download Nacchio Cert Petition

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