Seventh Circuit Reaffirms Conviction of Gov. Ryan
As the Casey Anthony trial/cultural moment/media feeding frenzy reached its denouement last week, two of the biggest trials of 2006 collided in the Seventh Circuit. Five years ago, Illinois Gov. George Ryan and Enron President Jeffrey Skilling were both convicted of mail fraud. From there, the two cases took quite different paths. Ryan’s conviction was affirmed by the Seventh Circuit, and the Supreme Court denied certiorari, but Skilling managed to win a partial reversal in the Supreme Court a year ago, as the Court substantially narrowed the reach of the mail-fraud statute. Ryan immediately sought another review of his conviction through a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion, arguing that the jury in his case was improperly instructed in light of Skilling. The district court denied relief, and the Seventh Circuit affirmed the decision last Wednesday. Ryan v. United States (No. 10-3964).
The court did not stake out any new ground legally in Ryan, but the opinion does provide a helpful roadmap of some of the opportunities and pitfalls that face defendants who try to take advantage of a new, narrowing construction of a criminal statute after their direct appeals have been exhausted.