Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Michael Baker v. United States
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 17-51034 · judgment April 26, 2019
Before the decision, about 1.5× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Fifth Circuit decision below, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition).
Question presented
The federal fraud statutes define the offense of fraud as a scheme to “obtain[ ] money or property” by deceptive means. 18 U.S.C. § 1343; see also 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1348. Interpreting other federal criminal statutes, this Court has held that the statutory phrase “obtain property” is a common-law term of art with a well-recognized meaning. Consistent with its ordinary meaning and its common-law definition, this Court has held that “obtaining property” means acquiring some property that the victim gives up. Honeycutt v. United States, 137 S. Ct. 1626, 1632 (2017); Sekhar v. United States, 570 U.S. 729, 732-34 (2013). Some circuits have held, however, that the same phrase has a different meaning in the federal fraud statutes. They have ruled that this Court’s prior definition of the phrase “obtain property” is inapplicable to the fraud statutes. They have held that any conduct that “affects a victim’s property rights” constitutes fraud, regardless of whether the defendant sought to obtain property. The question presented is whether obtaining property has the same meaning in the fraud statutes as it does in other provisions in the federal criminal code.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Dennis P. Riordan
Riordan & Horgan
For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day
Proceedings
- Mar 30 2020Petition DENIED.
- Mar 11 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/27/2020.
- Mar 06 2020Reply of petitioner Michael Baker filed.
- Feb 26 2020Brief of respondent United States of America in opposition filed.
- Jan 23 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including February 26, 2020.
- Jan 22 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 27, 2020 to February 26, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
- Dec 18 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including January 27, 2020.
- Dec 17 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 26, 2019 to January 27, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
- Nov 21 2019Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 26, 2019)
- Oct 03 2019Application (19A266) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until November 22, 2019.
- Oct 01 2019Application (19A266) to extend further the time from October 25, 2019 to November 22, 2019, submitted to Justice Alito.
- Sep 06 2019Application (19A266) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until October 25, 2019.
- Sep 03 2019Application (19A266) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from September 25, 2019 to October 25, 2019, submitted to Justice Alito.