Gas Pipe, Inc., et al. v. United States

Whether 18 U.S.C. § 371’s defraud clause, which in relevant part prohibits conspiracies “to defraud the United States,” reaches any conspiracy whose object is to interfere with any lawful government function, even if not targeted at the government’s money or property or an ongoing or reasonably foreseeable governmental proceeding.

Whether a court of appeals reviewing a district court’s failure to instruct the jury as to an element of the offense can find the constitutional error harmless based solely on the court of appeals’ assessment of the strength of the government’s evidence, without considering the defendant’s countervailing evidence or other factors supporting acquittal.