UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. WILLIAM E. BARONI, JR., Appellant; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. BRIDGET ANNE KELLY, Appellant
Nos. 17-1817 and 17-1818
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
Argued: April 24, 2018; Opinion Filed: November 27, 2018
PRECEDENTIAL
Before: AMBRO, SCIRICA, and SILER, JR.,* Circuit Judges.
(Opinion Filed: November 27, 2018)
Syed Y. Latifi
Matthew J. Letten
Michael A. Levy [ARGUED]
Michael D. Mann
Nicholas M. McLean
Sidley Austin LLP
787 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10019
Counsel for Appellant Baroni
Henry W. Asbill
BuckleySandler
1250 24th Street, N.W.
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20037
Jacob M. Roth [ARGUED]
Charlotte H. Taylor
Jones Day
51 Louisiana Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
* Honorable Eugene E. Siler, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, sitting by designation.
Critchley, Kinum & Denoia, LLC
75 Livingston Avenue
3rd Floor
Roseland, NJ 07068
Counsel for Appellant Kelly
Mark E. Coyne
Bruce P. Keller [ARGUED]
Office of the United States Attorney
970 Broad Street
Room 700
Newark, NJ 07102
Counsel for Appellee
OPINION OF THE COURT
SCIRICA, Circuit Judge
Defendants William E. Baroni, Jr. and Bridget Anne Kelly engaged in a scheme to impose crippling gridlock on the Borough of Fort Lee, New Jersey, after Fort Lee‘s mayor refused to endorse the 2013 reelection bid of then-Governor Chris Christie. To this end, under the guise of conducting a “traffic study,” Baroni and Kelly, among others, conspired to limit Fort Lee motorists’ access to the George Washington
In 2015, a grand jury indicted Baroni and Kelly for their role in the scheme. Each Defendant was charged with seven counts: conspiracy to obtain by fraud, knowingly convert, or intentionally misapply property of an organization receiving federal benefits,
For reasons that follow, we will affirm Defendants’ judgments of convictions on the wire fraud and Section 666 counts but will reverse and vacate their civil rights convictions.
I.1
In 2010, then-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie appointed Baroni to serve as Deputy Executive Director of the
Among its many functions, the Port Authority operates the George Washington Bridge, a double-decked suspension bridge connecting the Borough of Fort Lee, New Jersey, and New York City across the Hudson River. On the bridge‘s upper deck, twelve toll lanes carry traffic from New Jersey into New York. During the morning rush hour, Port Authority police place traffic cones to reserve the three right-most lanes—the “Special Access Lanes“—for local traffic from Fort Lee. This leaves the other nine lanes for drivers on the “Main Line,” which includes traffic from I-80 and I-95. This practice of reserving Special Access Lanes was a decades-long custom dating back to a political deal between a former New Jersey governor and Fort Lee mayor.
Wildstein testified he first became aware of the Special Access Lanes in March 2011. He learned the three lanes were given to Fort Lee by a former New Jersey governor to reduce local traffic and “immediately thought that this would be . . . a potential leverage point with [Fort Lee] Mayor [Mark] Sokolich down the road.” Joint App‘x (J.A.) 1596. Wildstein
Around the same time that Wildstein realized the Special Access Lanes could be used as leverage, IGA officials—including Kelly—were discussing a plan to solicit endorsements from Democratic elected officials to generate bipartisan support for Governor Christie‘s 2013 re-election bid. IGA officials rewarded potential endorsers with, among other things, “Mayor‘s Days” (meetings with top departmental and agency staff) and invitations to sporting events, breakfasts and parties at Drumthwacket (the Governor‘s Princeton residence), and the Governor‘s State of the State address.
The Governor‘s Office and IGA used the Port Authority similarly to bestow political favors on potential endorsers. As Wildstein explained at trial, the Port Authority “was viewed as the economic engine of the region” and “had an ability to do things for Democratic officials that would potentially put the Governor in a more favorable position.” J.A. 1522–23. Baroni and Wildstein were thus asked “to assist the Governor‘s Office in identifying opportunities that would be helpful.” J.A. 1523. The Port Authority gave benefits ranging from gifts (e.g., steel from the original World Trade Center towers, flags that had flown over Ground Zero, framed prints) and tours, to jobs, to large economic investments (e.g., the $250 million purchase of the Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne).
One Democratic endorsement sought by the Governor‘s Office was that of Mayor Sokolich. IGA invited Sokolich to a
In June 2013, Kelly told Wildstein that she was disappointed Sokolich would not be endorsing Governor Christie, and Wildstein reminded her “if she want[ed] the Port Authority to close down those Fort Lee lanes to put some pressure on Mayor Sokolich, that that c[ould] be done.” J.A. 1605. On August 13, 2013, Kelly sent an email to Wildstein that read: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” Supplemental App‘x (S.A.) 42. Wildstein “understood that to mean it was time to change the lane configurations, the upper level of the George Washington Bridge in order to create traffic in the Borough of Fort Lee.” J.A. 1612. Wildstein testified that, on a follow up telephone call, Kelly told him that “Mayor Sokolich needed to fully understand that life would be more difficult for him in the second Christie term than it had been [i]n the first.” J.A. 1620. Wildstein admitted at trial that he agreed to change the lane configuration “[f]or the purpose of causing—of punishing Mark Sokolich, of creating a traffic jam
Wildstein testified he told Baroni he “received an email from Miss Kelly that [he] viewed as instructing [him] to begin to put leverage on Mayor Sokolich by doing a lane closure.” J.A. 1618. He also testified he told Baroni “that Miss Kelly wanted the Fort Lee lanes closed . . . [f]or the purpose of punishing Mayor Sokolich . . . [b]ecause he had not endorsed Governor Christie” and that “Mr. Baroni was fine with that.” J.A. 1623.
According to Wildstein, he decided “to create the cover of a traffic study” and shared his plan with both Baroni and Kelly. J.A. 1624. Wildstein believed “calling it a traffic study would provide a cover story for the true purpose of changing and realigning that traffic pattern at the bridge” and “to have a public policy reason for doing so as opposed to saying it was political and it was punitive and revealing the true purpose.”3
According to Wildstein, he and Baroni discussed when to implement the lane closure at the end of August 2013, and they selected Monday, September 9, 2013—the first day of school in Fort Lee. But Wildstein waited to give the instruction until Friday, September 6. He testified “[i]t was a deliberate effort on [his] part to wait until the last minute to give a final
Wildstein gave the instruction to Zipf and two other Port Authority managers, Bob Durando (the general manager of the George Washington Bridge) and Cedric Fulton (the director of Tunnels, Bridges & Terminals), again claiming that New Jersey wanted to see whether the Special Access Lanes would remain permanent. When Fulton asked if Foye knew, Wildstein lied and said he did. Wildstein later told the same lie to Durando.
Durando explained that because only one Special Access Lane would remain open, the Port Authority needed to pay an extra toll collector to be on relief duty for that sole toll collector. Wildstein discussed this with Baroni and Kelly, and none of the three saw a problem with this extra cost. Wildstein and Zipf also discussed collecting data on the ensuing traffic, and Wildstein testified he understood it would require “some staff time.” J.A. 1688.
On the morning of Monday, September 9, Port Authority police placed traffic cones two toll booths to the right of where they were customarily placed on the upper deck, thereby reducing the number of Special Access Lanes from three to one, and increasing the number of Main Line lanes from nine to eleven. This realignment meant that Fort Lee‘s
As a result of this change, cars attempting to cross the George Washington Bridge during the morning commute backed up into Fort Lee and gridlocked the entire town. Mayor Sokolich repeatedly attempted to contact Baroni and IGA to have the two other Special Access Lanes reinstated, but Baroni deliberately did not respond. Wildstein testified “that was the plan that [he] had come up with along with Mr. Baroni and Miss Kelly, which is that all calls would be directed to Mr. Baroni. And that Mr. Baroni would be radio silent. Meaning any—all the calls would come to him, and he wasn‘t planning on returning any of them.” J.A. 1687–88.
On the morning of September 9, Mayor Sokolich called Baroni‘s office about an “urgent matter of public safety in Fort Lee,” but received no response. S.A. 51. The Fort Lee borough administrator also called to say Fort Lee police and paramedics had difficulty responding to a missing child and a cardiac arrest. The next day, the mayor called again, saying the traffic was a “life/safety” issue and that paramedics had to leave their vehicle and respond to a call on foot. S.A. 54. Receiving no response to his calls, he then sent Baroni a letter on September 12 detailing the negative impact on public safety in Fort Lee. Kelly was similarly unmoved by the traffic and the anger it generated, reportedly smiling when a colleague at IGA informed her of the situation.
Executive Director Foye first learned of the realignment on the evening of Thursday, September 12. The following
In response to significant public backlash, Baroni and Wildstein began preparing a report that would describe what happened as “a traffic study to determine whether it was fairer to give three lanes to Fort Lee.” J.A. 1870. The report would also have admitted that the Port Authority had failed to give Fort Lee appropriate notice due to an alleged “communications breakdown.” J.A. 1870. But the report was never released because Port Authority staff were asked to testify before the New Jersey State Assembly. See J.A. 1879–80. Wildstein helped Baroni prepare his testimony, which was based on the draft report and the traffic study and “fairness” rationale.
Then-Governor Christie fired Wildstein on December 6 and Baroni on December 12. Kelly was fired on January 9,
II.
On April 23, 2015, a federal grand jury returned a nine-count indictment, charging Defendants with seven counts each.
In Count 1, the grand jury charged Defendants with conspiracy to obtain by fraud, knowingly convert, or intentionally misapply property of an organization receiving federal benefits.
In Count 3, Defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
In Count 8, the grand jury charged Defendants with conspiracy against civil rights.
At the outset, Defendants moved to dismiss all the charges. See
Defendants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their wire fraud and Section 666 convictions.
“We exercise plenary review over a district court‘s grant or denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal based on the sufficiency of the evidence,” United States v. Willis, 844 F.3d 155, 164 n.21 (3d Cir. 2016), and we apply the same standard as the district court, see United States v. Ferriero, 866 F.3d 107, 113 n.4 (3d Cir. 2017) (citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979)). “A judgment of acquittal is appropriate under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 if, after reviewing the record in a light most favorable to the prosecution, we determine that no rational jury could have found proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” Willis, 844 F.3d at 164 n.21. Where sufficiency arguments give rise to questions of statutory interpretation, our review is also plenary. See Ferriero, 866 F.3d at 113 n.4.
A.
Defendants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence underlying their wire fraud convictions. “A person violates the federal wire fraud statute by using interstate wires to execute ‘any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises.‘” Ferriero, 866 F.3d at 120 (quoting
The physical property that was misused were the local access lanes, themselves, and the toll booths. . . . The defendants agreed to use these Port Authority assets, that property, to purposely create a traffic jam in Fort Lee. That agreement was not a legitimate use of the George Washington Bridge, the Port Authority‘s property.
J.A. 5193–94. The Government identified the “money” as “the salaries of each of the employees who wasted their time in furtherance of the defendants’ scheme,” including “the salary paid to the overtime toll booth collectors for the one remaining toll booth that was accessible to Fort Lee,” “the money paid to Baroni and Wildstein themselves while they . . . [were] wasting their time in furtherance of this conspiracy,” and “money paid to the engineers who wasted time—and Port Authority professional staff, who wasted time collecting data that no one ever wanted.” J.A. 5194. The Government also invoked the costs the Port Authority incurred in redoing a legitimate traffic study—at Center and Lemoine Avenues in Fort Lee—that was
According to the Government, Defendants’ untruthful claim they were conducting a traffic study was what allowed them to carry out the lane reductions and to obtain the Port Authority property and money necessary to do so. The Government also contended Defendants conspired with each other and Wildstein in furtherance of this fraudulent scheme.
Defendants argue the evidence was insufficient to prove a scheme to defraud because (1) Baroni possessed unilateral authority over Port Authority traffic patterns and any resources necessary to implement his decisions, and (2) the Port Authority was not deprived of any property right. In addition to these challenges, Defendants contend the Government has disguised an impermissible honest services fraud case as a wire fraud case in an attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court‘s decision in Skilling v. United States, 561 U.S. 358 (2010).
For reasons that follow, we hold the Government presented evidence sufficient to prove Defendants violated the wire fraud statute by depriving the Port Authority of, at a minimum, its money in the form of public employee labor.
1.
Defendants principally argue they could not have committed fraud because Baroni possessed the unilateral authority to control traffic patterns at Port Authority facilities and to marshal the resources necessary to implement his decisions.
Defendants rely on our opinion in United States v. Zauber, 857 F.2d 137 (3d Cir. 1988). There, the defendants were pension fund trustees who received kickbacks for investing in a mortgage company. See id. at 140–41. We held the indictment failed to charge violations of the mail and wire fraud statutes because it did not allege “an actual money or property loss to the pension fund.” Id. at 147–48. In so holding, we observed, among other things, that the defendants, “as trustees of the pension fund, had the power and the authority to invest the fund‘s monies with others.” Id. at 147. Likening Baroni to the pension fund trustees in Zauber, Defendants argue “the undisputed evidence showed that Baroni‘s position as co-head of the Port Authority gave him authority to make unilateral decisions about the alignment of traffic patterns at Port Authority facilities, and to command the resources needed to carry those decisions out.” Baroni Br. at 42. We disagree.
Defendants contend we cannot draw this inference because the trial judge declined to give a jury instruction based on Zauber.5 We disagree. The judge instructed the jury that
[i]n order to establish a scheme to defraud, the Government must also prove that the alleged scheme contemplated depriving the Port Authority of money and property. An organization is deprived of money or property when the organization is deprived of the right to control that money or property. And one way the organization is deprived of the right to control that money or property is when the organization receives false or fraudulent statements that affect its ability to make discretionary economic decisions about what to do with that money or property.
J.A. 5121-22. This instruction forecloses the possibility the jury convicted Defendants of fraud without finding Baroni lacked authority to realign the lanes. For Baroni could not deprive the Port Authority of money and property he was authorized to use for any purpose. Nor could he deprive the Port Authority of its right to control its money or property if that right to control were committed to his unilateral discretion. In finding the existence of a scheme to defraud, the jury necessarily concluded Baroni lacked authority to order the realignment.
2.
Defendants also argue the Port Authority was not deprived of any tangible property and challenge the Government‘s and District Court‘s invocation of the “right to control” theory of property.
Before trial, the trial judge rejected Defendants’ related argument the charges should be dismissed because they did not “obtain” money or property. Relying on our decision in United States v. Al Hedaithy, 392 F.3d 580 (3d Cir. 2004), the judge ruled “it [wa]s enough that they prevented the Port Authority from exercising ‘its right to exclusive use of’ its property, which here allegedly includes toll booths and roadways, in addition to money in the form of employee compensation and the costs of redoing a traffic study.” J.A. 36-37.
In their post-trial motions, however, Defendants raised no sufficiency arguments respecting the property at issue. Rather, they contended only that Baroni possessed the authority to realign the lanes. We note Defendants arguably forfeited their right to raise these issues on appeal by not presenting them to the District Court.6 But we need not decide
The wire fraud statute proscribes “scheme[s] or artifice[s] to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses.”
Defendants argue they “did not deprive the Port Authority of any tangible property.” Kelly Br. at 40. “After all,” they say, “the Port Authority still owns all of the lanes and tollbooths (and always has).” Id. But even assuming arguendo Defendants are correct, the federal fraud statutes are not limited to protecting tangible property rights. “[T]o determine whether a particular interest is property for purposes of the fraud statutes, we look to whether the law traditionally has recognized and enforced it as a property right.” Henry, 29 F.3d at 115; see also United States v. Evans, 844 F.2d 36, 41 (2d Cir. 1988) (“That the right at issue here has not been treated as a property right in other contexts, and that there are many basic differences between it and common-law property[,] are relevant considerations in deciding whether the right is property under the federal fraud statutes.“).
The Government introduced ample evidence Defendants obtained by false or fraudulent pretenses, at a minimum, public employees’ labor. Their time and wages, in
Wildstein testified that, on the Friday before the lane reductions, he called Durando, the general manager of the George Washington Bridge, and said he wanted to study traffic patterns and see the effect of taking two lanes away from Fort Lee. Wildstein told Durando the New Jersey side of the Port Authority wanted to be able to “make a determination down the road as to whether those [Fort Lee] lanes would stay on a permanent basis.” J.A. 1685. Of course, as Wildstein admitted at trial, the traffic study rationale offered to Durando was not the real reason for the realignment.
Among other things, Durando told Wildstein he would need to have a relief toll worker on duty because all of Fort Lee‘s traffic would be going through one lane. Wildstein testified he “understood that the Port Authority would have to pay for an extra toll collector to be on relief duty for that first toll collector,” J.A. 1686, and discussed this cost with both Defendants. According to Wildstein, both Baroni and Kelly found it humorous that the Port Authority would have to “pay a second toll collector to sit and wait in case the first toll collector had to go to the bathroom,” and they had no problem with the extra cost. J.A. 1687. On Sunday, September 8, 2013, Wildstein emailed Durando to say he would “be at [the] bridge early Monday [morning] to view [the] new lane test.” S.A. 49. Durando replied that he would also be present, and that he had “also brought a toll collector in on overtime to keep toll lane 24 (the extreme right hand toll lane Upper level) in the event
The Government also called Theresa Riva, a Port Authority employee who served as an Operations Planning Analyst for the George Washington Bridge during the relevant time period. In that capacity, Riva supervised time keeping for operations staff and managed scheduling and coverage for toll collectors. Riva testified she learned of the lane reductions the Friday before, and Bob Durando “asked [her] to staff one additional toll collector” on the upper level toll plaza twenty-four hours a day. J.A. 2897. Because toll collectors work eight-hour shifts, this meant “three toll collectors a day to be an excess toll collector in the toll house.” J.A. 2897. Riva testified all these additional toll collectors were paid an overtime rate “[b]ecause they either worked on their regular day off or in excess of eight hours, a double [shift].” J.A. 2898. Riva testified these employees would not have been paid absent the lane realignment.
In addition to the overtime toll workers, Wildstein discussed with Zipf using Port Authority professional staff to track data, which would include “numbers on how-how many cars were involved and how far back the traffic was delayed.” J.A. 1688. Wildstein understood Zipf “would have to use some staff time.” J.A. 1688. At trial, the staff members testified to the significant amount of time they spent performing unnecessary work related to the realignment.
Amy Hwang, Senior Operations Planning Analyst for the Port Authority, testified she collected data on traffic at the bridge and compared it to traffic on the same date the year before. Hwang testified she spent two hours working on the
Victor Chung, Senior Transportation Planner for the Port Authority, was asked to forecast the impact of reducing Fort Lee‘s Special Access Lanes from three to one. Chung testified he spent a little over eight hours doing this analysis on the Friday before the reductions went into effect. During the week of the reductions, Chung was asked to compare travel times approaching the bridge‘s upper-level toll plaza during peak hours and to compare it to historical travel times. Chung testified he spent about six hours on this analysis, for a total of 14 hours spent on unnecessary work.
And Umang Patel, Staff Service Engineer in the Port Authority‘s Traffic Engineering department, downloaded and analyzed data relating to travel time on the Main Line during the lane reductions. Patel testified he spent two hours discussing the lane reductions on Monday, September 9, and four hours per day analyzing data on Tuesday, September 10, through Thursday, September 12, for a total of fourteen hours.
Moreover, Wildstein estimated he spent twenty-five to thirty hours working on the lane reductions, and that Baroni spent fifteen to twenty hours, for a total of forty to fifty hours. Their compensation is plainly “money” for the purposes of the wire fraud statute.8
The Government‘s evidence that Defendants fraudulently conscripted fourteen Port Authority employees into their service, and that Baroni and Wildstein accepted compensation for time spent conspiring to defraud the Port Authority, is alone sufficient for a rational juror to have
Although we need not reach or decide Defendant‘s arguments on the “right to control” theory in light of our holding, we recognize this traditional concept of property provides an alternative basis upon which to conclude Defendants defrauded the Port Authority.9 As Baroni notes,
The George Washington Bridge is the world‘s busiest motor vehicle bridge10 leading to our nation‘s most populous city. The Port Authority‘s physical property-the bridge‘s lanes and toll booths-are revenue-generating assets. The Port Authority has an unquestionable property interest in the
In sum, Defendants’ arguments concerning the property interest at issue fall far short.
3.
Finally, Defendants argue we “should reject the government‘s attempt to shoehorn a repudiated theory of honest services fraud into an ill-fitting theory of money or property fraud.” Baroni Br. at 44.
In denying Defendants’ post-trial motions, the District Court summarily rejected this argument, holding “[t]here is a difference . . . between intangible rights to honest services not covered by the wire fraud statute, and intangible property rights which are.” J.A. 60 n.15 (citing Carpenter, 484 U.S. at 25, and McNally, 483 U.S. at 356). We agree.
Defendants primarily rely on the Supreme Court‘s decision in Skilling v. United States, 561 U.S. 358 (2010), which narrowed the scope of the honest services statute,
Defendants argue it cannot be a crime “for a public official to take official action based on concealed ‘political interests.‘” Baroni Br. at 48. And they warn that “[t]he government‘s theory-that acting with a concealed political interest nonetheless becomes mail or wire fraud so long as the public official uses any government resources to make or effectuate the decision-would render the Supreme Court‘s carefully considered limitation [on honest services fraud] a nullity.” Baroni Br. at 48. According to Defendants, “[i]t cannot be the case that the Supreme Court has pointedly and repeatedly rebuffed the government‘s attempts to prosecute public officials for the deprivation of the public‘s intangible right to honest services or honest government if, all along, the inevitable use of at least a peppercorn of public money or
We are mindful of the Supreme Court‘s honest services case law but do not believe it counsels a different result in this case. Defendants were charged with simple money and property fraud under
It is hard to see, under Defendants’ theory, how a public official could ever be charged with simple mail or wire fraud. They appear to suggest that, as public officials, any fraud case against them necessarily entails intangible right to honest services. That is not so. As we have explained, Defendants were charged with defrauding the Port Authority of its money and property12-not the intangible right to their honest services. Prosecutions of public officials for defrauding the government of money and property are unfortunately quite common. See, e.g., United States v. James, 888 F.3d 42 (3d Cir. 2018) (former Virgin Islands senator charged with wire fraud and
Defendants also argue their convictions pose federalism concerns and would “involve[] the Federal Government in setting standards of good government for local and state officials.” Baroni Br. at 49 (quoting McNally, 483 U.S. at 360). Again, we disagree. This case lacks the federalism concerns present in McNally, where the federal government prosecuted a Kentucky state official and a private citizen for their role in a “self-dealing patronage scheme” involving the state‘s purchase of insurance policies. See id. at 352-53. But unlike a typical state or local governmental body, the Port Authority is an interstate agency created by Congressional consent, see
* * *
In sum, the Government presented sufficient evidence for the jury to convict Defendants of wire fraud.
B.
Defendants’ other sufficiency challenge contests their
(a) Whoever, if the circumstance described in subsection (b) of this section exists-
(1) being an agent of an organization, or of a State, local, or Indian tribal government, or any agency thereof-
(A) embezzles, steals, obtains by fraud, or otherwise without authority knowingly converts to the use of any person other than the rightful owner or intentionally misapplies, property that-
(i) is valued at $5,000 or more, and
(ii) is owned by, or is under the care, custody, or control of such organization, government, or agency; . . .
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
(b) The circumstance referred to in subsection (a) of this section is that the organization, government, or agency receives, in any one year period, benefits in excess of $10,000 under a Federal program involving a grant, contract, subsidy, loan, guarantee, insurance, or other form of Federal assistance.
Accordingly, a violation of
Defendants’ appeal involves only the third and fifth elements14-whether they obtained by fraud, knowingly converted, or intentionally misapplied Port Authority property (the actus reus), and whether that property was worth at least $5,000.
As with the wire fraud counts, the Government‘s theory at trial was that the property at issue fell into two categories: physical property (i.e., the Special Access Lanes and toll booths) and money (i.e., employee labor).
Defendants argue the evidence was insufficient to prove a violation of
For reasons that follow, we hold the Government presented evidence sufficient to prove Defendants violated
1.
Defendants broadly argue they merely allocated a public resource based on political considerations, which cannot be criminal. Offering an analogy, Kelly contends Defendants’ conduct is “materially indistinguishable” from that of a mayor who, after a heavy snowfall, directs city employees to plow the streets of a ward that supported her before getting to a ward that supported her opponent. Kelly Br. at 1. Baroni makes similar arguments. See Baroni Br. at 31 (“In any event, it is obvious that there is nothing illegal about allocating public resources to favor political supporters and allies. Budgets are enacted, projects are funded, pork is doled out, potholes are filled, and snow is plowed at every level of government with political considerations in mind.“).
While such analogies have some superficial appeal, we find them unpersuasive. We agree with the District Court that this argument “conflates motive . . . with mens reas and conduct.” J.A. 54. Defendants altered the bridge‘s decades-
Nor are we persuaded by Defendants’ arguments that the Government has sought to expand the reach of
On appeal, we recognized
The Government responds that Cicco is inapposite because the conduct at issue in that case “potentially implicated the bribery provisions of
But Cicco is instructive here. Our exposition of
We have subsequently reaffirmed our understanding that Congress intended
In Salinas v. United States, 522 U.S. 52 (1997), for example, the petitioner contended the Government must prove a connection between a bribe and federal funds to obtain a conviction under
The Court next addressed
Finally, in Sabri v. United States, 541 U.S. 600 (2004), the Supreme Court addressed another challenge to Section 666‘s bribery provision. The petitioner argued, inter alia, that
For those of us who accept help from legislative history, it is worth noting that the legislative record confirms that § 666(a)(2) is an instance of necessary and proper legislation. The design was generally to ‘protect the integrity of the vast sums of money distributed through Federal programs from theft, fraud, and undue influence by bribery,’ see S.Rep. No. 98-225, p. 370 (1983), in contrast to prior federal law affording only two limited opportunities to prosecute such threats to the federal interest: 18 U.S.C. § 641, the federal theft statute, and § 201, the federal bribery law. Those laws had proven inadequate to the task. The [federal theft statute] went only to outright theft of unadulterated federal funds . . . .
Id. Recognizing that the statute was intended to address offenses involving fraud and theft, the Court held that
Defendants’ reliance on United States v. Thompson, 484 F.3d 877 (7th Cir. 2007), is also misplaced. In that case, Thompson, a Wisconsin state procurement official, was prosecuted for steering a contract to a local travel agency, allegedly in violation of state procurement statutes and regulations. See id. at 878-80. The government‘s theory had been that Thompson “‘intentionally misapplie[d]’ more than $5,000 by diverting it” away from the firm that should have been selected under the state‘s procurement regulations. Id. at 880. The Seventh Circuit was not convinced that Thompson‘s decision actually violated the state‘s regulations. See id. at 880-81. And it observed that, unlike “[a]pproving a payment for goods or services not supplied,” her conduct “d[id] not sound like ‘misapplication’ of funds.” Id. at 881. Significantly, the firm she selected was actually the low bidder, and “[t]he federal government saved money because of Thompson‘s decisions.” Id. The Seventh Circuit turned to the statute‘s caption—“Theft or bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds“—because “the word ‘misapplies’ is not a defined term.” Id. Relying on that caption and the Rule of Lenity, the Seventh Circuit adopted a more narrow reading of intentional misapplication “that limits § 666 to theft, extortion, bribery, and similarly corrupt acts.” Id. The Court further commented it did not believe a state official‘s violation of state regulations and statutes—even if intentional—would violate
We hold that, at a minimum, the Government offered a valid theory that Defendants fraudulently obtained, knowingly converted, or intentionally misapplied the labor of Port Authority employees, and that it offered evidence sufficient to sustain Defendants’ convictions.
It is well established that public employees’ labor is property for the purposes of
We have explained, in addressing Defendants’ sufficiency challenge to the wire fraud counts, how they defrauded the Port Authority of the labor of fourteen public employees—eleven toll collectors paid overtime and three
Defendants argue they could not have misapplied Port Authority employee labor because they did not receive a “personal pecuniary benefit.” Baroni Br. at 27. We disagree. Defendants had Port Authority employees do work they would not have otherwise done to further their personal scheme. The fact Defendants sought to benefit politically, not monetarily, does not alter the fact they forced the Port Authority to pay toll workers overtime, and diverted the time of salaried professional staff, in furtherance of no legitimate purpose. Cf. Genova, 333 F.3d 758-59 (explaining that “the point of the
Defendants argue this interpretation raises constitutional vagueness concerns. We disagree. At trial, the Government introduced evidence that, after Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop declined to endorse Governor Christie, the Governor‘s office directed state agencies (including the Port Authority) to cancel meetings with Fulop and otherwise ignore him. In seeking to admit this evidence, see
Defendants also raise federalism concerns, arguing the Government is improperly attempting “to police state and local officials in the conduct of their official duties.” Baroni Br. at 36. As we have observed, Congress has a uniquely significant interest in safeguarding the Port Authority, an interstate agency created by its consent. But we also believe federalism arguments are especially inapposite in the context of
In sum, the Government presented evidence sufficient to prove Defendants fraudulently obtained, knowingly converted, or intentionally misapplied Port Authority employee labor in violation of
Finally, Defendants contend there was insufficient evidence to meet the $5,000 threshold because the Port Authority employees’ wages are exempt under
The District Judge rejected these arguments, concluding “the Government introduced evidence that Defendants
Without reaching the other costs presented to the jury (i.e., the value of the lanes and toll booths themselves, and the costs of redoing the Center and Lemoine traffic study), we hold the Government presented sufficient evidence that Defendants fraudulently obtained more than $5,000 worth of public employee labor.
As to the cost of compensating overtime toll booth workers, the Government introduced, and Riva testified to, detailed payroll records showing eleven overtime toll booth workers were paid $3,696.09. The Government presented this number to the jury on a chart and reminded them of the specific figure in summation.
As to the value of the time of Port Authority professional staff, and of Baroni and Wildstein themselves, the Government also presented witness testimony and detailed payroll records.17 On the first day of trial, payroll records for
At oral argument, the Government explained the calculations were established at trial through Port Authority payroll records, which had been admitted into evidence by stipulation, and testimony from Hwang, Chung, Patel, and Wildstein about how many hours each had worked on the fraudulent traffic study.
Following oral argument, we requested the Government to file a supplemental letter brief addressing, with citations to the trial record, the evidence it presented to the jury to establish the property subject to the Section 666 counts is valued at $5,000 or more. We further ordered the Government to attach any relevant trial exhibits or stipulations it had not previously submitted. We also allowed Defendants to file a joint response. The Government timely filed its brief, and Defendants filed a joint response.
Furthermore, based on Wildstein‘s testimony about the amount of time he and Baroni spent in furtherance of the scheme, the value of their time was, at a minimum, $4,294.80. This figure reflects approximately $1,989.75 for Wildstein‘s time ($79.59 x 25 hours) and $2,305.05 for Baroni‘s time ($153.67 x 15 hours).
The Government reminded the jury of this evidence in summation:
Based on Port Authority payroll records and testimony you‘ve heard, about $5,000 in Port Authority salaries were paid for the time in connection for the lane reduction work performed by Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals, Miss Hwang, Mr. Chung, traffic engineering Mr. Patel, as well as for Mr. Baroni and Mr. Wildstein‘s time spent to facilitate and conceal causing traffic problems in Fort Lee. Those service[s] were wasted. Those services were wasted for these lane reductions meant to punish the Mayor.
J.A. 5295-96. Accordingly, we conclude the Government presented to the jury evidence sufficient to satisfy the $5,000 threshold.
The charges involving the compensation paid to Baroni and Wildstein themselves are different, however. The accusation is essentially that they did not earn their salaries in good faith by accepting payment for time spent defrauding their employer, so their compensation for that time could not have been “bona fide.”
In this case, the judge instructed the jury that “[p]roperty does not include bona fide salary, wages, fees or other compensation paid or expenses paid or reimbursed in the ordinary course of business,” and that “[c]ompensation for an employee‘s time and services obtained through deception is not legitimate or bona fide.” J.A. 5110. This instruction allowed the jury properly to exclude Baroni and Wildstein‘s compensation under
Because the jury in this case was provided only a general verdict form, we do not know how it determined the $5,000 threshold was satisfied. The wire fraud convictions suggest the jury did not find Baroni and Wildstein‘s compensation “bona fide.” See Black‘s Law Dictionary 210 (10th ed. 2014) (defining “bona fide” as “in good faith; without fraud or deceit“). But even if the jury determined Baroni and Wildstein‘s compensation was subject to the
In light of our holding, we need not address Defendants’ argument the frustrated Center and Lemoine traffic study is not cognizable property under
* * *
IV.
Defendants also challenge the jury instructions on the
Where, as here, a party has timely objected to the trial court‘s jury instructions, we exercise plenary review in determining whether the jury instructions stated the proper legal standard. See United States v. Shaw, 891 F.3d 441, 449-50 (3d Cir. 2018). “We must ‘conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury verdict would have been the same absent the error’ for the error to be harmless. United States v. Elonis, 841 F.3d 589, 597-98 (3d Cir. 2016) (quoting Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1, 19 (1999)). Our inquiry “is not whether, in a trial that occurred without the error, a guilty verdict would surely have been rendered, but whether the guilty verdict actually rendered in this trial was surely unattributable to the error.” Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 279 (1993).
A.
Defendants raise three challenges to the jury instructions on the
1.
Defendants contend that, even if there is evidence sufficient to prove
We have already detailed the trial evidence establishing the value of the public employees’ labor in addressing Defendants’ sufficiency challenge. Our analysis there focused on whether the record, viewed in the light most favorable to the Government, provided a sufficient basis for a rational juror to convict. But our inquiry here is different. Defendants contend that, even if the record contained sufficient evidence that the value of public employee labor exceeded $5,000, we cannot be certain beyond a reasonable doubt the jury actually considered all of that time in light of its instructions. We disagree. No reasonable juror could have failed to credit the value of Port Authority employee labor Defendants used to effect their
Defendants do not assert any error in the jury instructions as to the value of the public employee labor, and we find none. The Government presented overwhelming and undisputed evidence—which we described in analyzing Defendants’ sufficiency challenge—concerning the amount of time Port Authority employees spent in furtherance of Defendants’ scheme.
As to the cost of compensating overtime tollbooth workers, the Government introduced, and Riva specifically testified to, detailed payroll records showing eleven overtime tollbooth workers were paid $3,696.09. The Government presented this number to the jury on a chart and referenced it in summation.
The Government also elicited testimony from three members of the Port Authority‘s professional staff—Hwang, Chung, and Patel—about the time they spent collecting traffic data on the realignment, in furtherance of no legitimate Port Authority purpose, and testimony from Wildstein about the time he and Baroni spent in furtherance of the scheme. Detailed payroll records reveal the value of the traffic engineers’ time was approximately $1,828.80.
Defendants argue we cannot be confident the jury considered the traffic engineers’ time because it was not presented a full calculation of the value of their hourly rate multiplied by the hours they claimed to have worked on the sham study. We disagree. The parties admitted the relevant payroll records by stipulation, the Government elicited
Accordingly, the value of the work performed by Hwang, Chung, and Patel, taken together with the $3,696.09 spent on overtime toll workers, satisfies the $5,000 threshold. The time Baroni and Wildstein spent plotting their fraud represents an additional $4,295.
Because the jury was instructed “[c]ompensation for an employee‘s time and services obtained through deception is not legitimate or bona fide,” and the Government presented overwhelming evidence Defendants fraudulently obtained Port Authority employee services, the jury necessarily found all the toll worker and professional staff time satisfied the $5,000 threshold and was not subject to
Defendants’ convictions on the wire fraud counts confirm this conclusion. The jury found Defendants defrauded the Port Authority and conspired to do so. The only fraudulent scheme before them was one to cause a traffic blockage in Fort Lee by conducting a sham traffic study. There is overwhelming evidence that the bridge lanes were altered, eleven toll collectors worked additional overtime hours as a result, and the traffic study was conducted with the help of several well-paid Port Authority engineers. Defendants do not
2.
Next, Defendants contend the District Court erred in instructing the jury it did not need to know of the specific property obtained. Defendants raise this argument to challenge the inclusion of the Center and Lemoine study in the jury instructions. Although we agree the instruction was erroneous, the error was harmless.
The District Judge instructed the jury:
The Government does not have to prove that the Defendants knew of the specific property obtained by fraud, knowingly converted, or intentionally misapplied, or that the value of the property met or exceeded $5,000.
J.A. 5110. This addition to the Third Circuit‘s Model Jury Instruction was proposed by the Government. In proposed draft
As this Court recognized in denying Defendants’ motions to dismiss the Indictment, the $5,000 requirement is a “jurisdictional element.” United States v. Baroni, Crim. No. 15-193, 2016 WL 3388302, at *7 (D.N.J. June 13, 2016) (citing United States v. Briston, 192 F. App‘x 84, 85 (3d Cir. 2006)). The Third Circuit has long held that a defendant‘s “knowledge of... jurisdictional fact[s]” is “irrelevant.” United States v. Crutchley, 502 F.2d 1195, 1201 (3d Cir. 1974); see also United States v. Moyer, 674 F.3d 192, 208 (3d Cir. 2012) (“[i]t is well settled that mens rea requirements typically do not extend to the jurisdictional elements of a crime“) (quotation omitted).
J.A. 495. At the charging conference, Defendants objected to this addition and requested the judge instruct the jury it had to be “at least reasonably foreseeable what property would be obtained.” J.A. 4993. The Government responded that “[r]easonably foreseeable goes to mens rea, which the Third Circuit has held clearly does not extend to the jurisdictional elements of statutes like 666.” J.A. 4993. The judge agreed and declined to instruct the jury the property at issue had to be reasonably foreseeable to Defendants. J.A. 4994.
Defendants argue this was error because the “Section 666‘s jurisdictional element is the requirement that the victim be a federal program beneficiary,” and that “[t]he $5,000 threshold is a
In any event, the affected property is not part of
While the jury need not have found that Defendants knew the value of the property, it was error for the trial judge to instruct the jury “[t]he Government d[id] not have to prove that the Defendants knew of the specific property obtained by fraud, knowingly converted, or intentionally misapplied.” J.A. 495. Such an instruction runs the risk of negating the statute‘s mens rea requirement and thus relieving the Government of its burden of proof on an essential element of the crime. We do
But because we need not reach nor credit the Center and Lemoine study to affirm Defendants’ convictions, the error was harmless. There is overwhelming evidence Defendants knew of the property fraudulently obtained or intentionally misapplied, including the work of fourteen of Baroni‘s subordinates at the Port Authority.
3.
Defendants next challenge the District Judge‘s definition of intentional misapplication as ambiguous. We disagree. Following the Third Circuit Model Jury Instruction, the judge instructed the jury:
To intentionally misapply money or property means to intentionally use money or property of the Port Authority knowing that the use is unauthorized or unjustifiable or wrongful. Misapplication includes the wrongful use of the money or property for an unauthorized purpose, even if the use actually benefitted the Port Authority.
J.A. 5109. Defendants argue that “unjustifiable or wrongful” is overbroad and ambiguous. Defendants raised this same argument in pretrial motions and at the charging conference. The Government responded these are common terms and have been used in numerous intentional misapplication cases going
On appeal, Defendants argue these terms are so broad that the jury could have convicted if it believed the lane realignment was “a bad idea,” unjustifiable “as a policy matter,” or that Baroni should have sought Executive Director Foye‘s approval. Kelly Br. at 35 (emphasis omitted). We disagree.
Other instructions in the District Judge‘s thorough and comprehensive charge foreclose the possibility the jury convicted defendants for lawful but imprudent conduct, e.g., because the jury thought the lane reductions were “a bad idea.” These include the requirement that $5,000 worth of property be stolen or misapplied and that the misapplication be “for an unauthorized purpose.” The judge also told the jury that it had to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the purpose of the lane reductions was not a legitimate traffic study and that Defendants’ good faith would be a complete defense to the charges. See J.A. 5141-42. Because the jury was instructed that Defendants could not be convicted if they believed in good faith that the reductions were part of a legitimate traffic study, a jury following its instructions could not have convicted Defendants based on its personal judgments about the wisdom and execution of the traffic study.
Moreover, we observe that this definition, or even broader language, is contained in the model jury instructions in
B.
Defendants also challenge the District Judge‘s refusal to instruct the jury it needed to find Defendants intended to punish Mayor Sokolich in order to convict. They contend this error affects every count and constructively amended the indictment, “permit[ing] the jury to convict based on conduct that was not unlawful.” Baroni Br. at 63. We disagree.
Defendants requested the object of the conspiracy be defined throughout the jury charge as one “to misuse Port Authority property to facilitate and conceal the causing of traffic problems in Fort Lee as punishment of Mayor Sokolich.” E.g., J.A. 501-04, 506. The trial court disagreed, ruling “the purpose or the object of the conspiracy being to punish Mayor Sokolich goes to motive,” which is “not an element of the crime” and so “not an element that has to be proven.” J.A. 5009.
In their post-trial motions, Defendants argued the punishment of Mayor Sokolich was “an essential element of each of the charged offenses,” and that the failure to instruct the jury on this point relieved the Government of its burden of proof. J.A. 50. The trial judge again disagreed, explaining that “any punitive goal Defendants may have had goes to their motive for violating the charged statutes, [but] is not an essential element of any of the crimes charged.” J.A. 50. We agree.
Defendants argue the “intent to punish Sokolich [is] an essential element of the mens rea of the charged offenses.” Baroni Br. at 58. Once again, Defendants conflate motive with mens rea intent and conduct. As we recently explained in Hassan v. City of New York:
[T]here‘s a difference between “intent” and “motive.” “[A] defendant acts intentionally when he desires a particular result, without reference to the reason for such desire. Motive, on the other hand, is the reason why the defendant desires the result.” 2 Harry Sanger Richards et al., American Law and Procedure § 8, at 6 (1922). In other words, “intent” asks whether a person acts “intentionally or accidentally,” while “motive” asks, “If he did it
intentionally, why did he do it?” 1 John William Salmond, Jurisprudence § 134, at 398 (7th ed. 1924) (emphasis in original); see also Black‘s Law Dictionary 881 (Bryan Garner ed., 10th ed. 2014) (“While motive is the inducement to do some act, intent is the mental resolution or determination to do it.“). This fundamental “distinction between motive and intent runs all through the law.” Johnson v. Phelan, 69 F.3d 144, 155 (7th Cir. 1995) (Posner, C.J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
804 F.3d 277, 297 (3d Cir. 2015).
The District Judge properly instructed the jury, for example, that to find Defendants guilty of wire fraud, the Government was required to prove they “knowingly devised a scheme to defraud or to obtain money or property by materially false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises,” and that they “acted with intent to defraud.” J.A. 5119. This describes the conduct proscribed by the statute and the required mens rea. The intent to punish Mayor Sokolich may explain Defendants’ motive—why Defendants intended to defraud the Port Authority in this case—but it is distinct from mens rea and is not a required element of any of the charged offenses. See, e.g., Pointer v. United States, 151 U.S. 396, 417 (1894) (“The absence of evidence suggesting a motive for the commission of the crime charged is a circumstance in favor of the accused, to be given such weight as the jury deems proper; but proof of motive is never indispensable to conviction.“); United States v. Sriyuth, 98 F.3d 739, 747 n.12 (3d Cir. 1996) (“[M]otive is always relevant in a criminal case, even if it is not an element of the crime.“); cf. United States v. Davis, 183 F.3d 231, 244 (3d Cir. 1999) (“It is clear that the parties involved in this intrigue had different motives. . . . Davis contends that this disproves a conspiracy. We disagree. If they all agreed to interfere with a pending judicial proceeding, they are guilty of conspiracy. That is the difference between motive and intent.“); United States v. Harrison, 942 F.2d 751, 756 (10th Cir. 1991) (“The goals of all the participants need not be congruent for a single conspiracy to exists, so long as their goals are not at cross purposes.” (quoting United States v. Maldonado-Rivera, 922 F.2d 934, 963 (2d Cir. 1990))).
Indeed, following the Third Circuit Model Jury Instructions, the District Judge charged the jury on this critical difference between motive and intent:
Intent and motive are different concepts. Motive is what prompts a person to act. Intent refers only to the state of mind with which the particular act is done. Personal advancement and financial gain, for example, are motives for much of human conduct. However, these motives may prompt one person to intentionally do something perfectly acceptable, while prompting another person to intentionally do an act that is a crime. Motive is not an element of the offense with which a defendant is charged. Proof of bad motive is not required to convict. Further, proof of bad motive alone does not establish that the defendant is guilty. And proof of good motive alone does not establish that the defendant is not guilty. Evidence of the defendant‘s motive may, however, help you to determine his or her intent.
And while the grand jury included language describing Defendants’ motive to punish the mayor in the indictment, that language—which did not describe an essential element of the charged offense—was merely surplusage. Because the jury instructions did not modify the essential elements of the offenses as charged in the indictment, there was no constructive amendment. See United States v. Repak, 852 F.3d 230, 257-58 (3d Cir. 2017) (“An indictment is constructively amended when, in the absence of a formal amendment, the evidence and jury instructions at trial modify essential terms of the charged offense in such a way that there is a substantial likelihood that the jury may have convicted the defendant for an offense differing from the offense the indictment returned by the grand jury actually charged.” (quoting United States v. Daraio, 445 F.3d 253, 259-60 (3d Cir. 2006))).
Accordingly, we find no error in these instructions or the District Judge‘s response to the jury‘s question.
* * *
V.
Finally, Defendants challenge the sufficiency of Counts 8 and 9 of the indictment. In those counts, the grand jury charged Defendants with conspiring to violate, and substantively violating, the civil rights of Fort Lee residents. It alleged “[t]he object of the conspiracy was to interfere with the localized travel rights of the residents of Fort Lee for the illegitimate purpose of causing significant traffic problems in Fort Lee to punish Mayor Sokolich,” J.A. 124, and that Defendants “knowingly and willfully deprived the residents of Fort Lee of the rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States, namely, the right to localized travel on public roadways free from restrictions unrelated to legitimate government objectives,” J.A. 127. Defendants argue the substantive due process right the grand jury identified—“the right to localized travel on public roadways free from restrictions unrelated to legitimate government objectives“—is not clearly established and thus cannot form the basis of the civil rights offenses charged in Counts 8 and 9.
Defendants’ attack on the sufficiency of Counts 8 and 9 of the indictment is a legal question over which our review is plenary. See Willis, 844 F.3d at 161 n.7. “[W]hether the alleged violation of substantive due process was clearly
“[I]n lieu of describing the specific conduct it forbids, each statute‘s general terms incorporate constitutional law by reference.” United States v. Lanier, 520 U.S. 259, 265 (1997). The statutes’ scope is limited to “rights fairly warned of, having been ‘made specific’ by the time of the charged conduct.” Id. at 267. The Supreme Court has held that “the object of the ‘clearly established’ immunity standard is not different from that of ‘fair warning’ as it relates to law ‘made specific’ for the purpose of validly applying” the criminal civil rights statutes. Id. at 270. Accordingly, we apply the same test as in qualified immunity cases, asking whether the right allegedly deprived was clearly established. See id.
Before trial, Defendants moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing that there is no constitutional right to localized travel on public roadways and that, even if such a
Contrary to the District Court‘s holding, however, and according to the Supreme Court‘s qualified immunity precedent, Lutz alone could not have put Defendants on notice that they were violating a constitutional right. “A Government official‘s conduct violates clearly established law when, at the time of the challenged conduct, ‘the contours of a right are sufficiently clear’ that every ‘reasonable official would have understood that what he is doing violates that right.‘” L.R. v. Sch. Dist. of Phila., 836 F.3d 235, 248 (3d Cir. 2016) (quoting Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 563 U.S. 731, 741 (2011)). “To determine whether the right is clearly established, we look at the state of
The Supreme Court has never recognized an intrastate travel right. Far from a “robust consensus” in the Courts of Appeals that the right exists, the law across the circuits is uncertain. And most often our sister circuits have considered the matter in reviewing challenges to municipal residency requirements, not government action prohibiting free movement in public spaces, undermining the notice those opinions might have provided to Defendants as to the criminal nature of their conduct.
In addition to our opinion in Lutz,19 the First, Second, and Sixth Circuits have recognized a right to intrastate travel, though they have described it at varying levels of generality. See Cole v. Hous. Auth. of City of Newport, 435 F.2d 807, 809
On the other hand, the Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits have treated the question more skeptically, often hesitating to recognize a due process intrastate travel right and sometimes explicitly rejecting theories rooted in other constitutional provisions. See Eldridge v. Bouchard, 645 F. Supp. 749, 753-55 (W.D. Va. 1986) (rejecting challenge to regional salary differential for police officers, in part, because “the plaintiffs do not have a federally recognized fundamental right to intrastate travel” rooted in the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, though suggesting an intrastate travel right may be implicated in durational residency cases), aff‘d, 823 F.2d 546 (4th Cir. 1987); Qutb v. Strauss, 11 F.3d 488, 492 (5th Cir. 1993) (upholding juvenile curfew ordinance even “assum[ing] without deciding that the right to move about freely [in public] is a fundamental right,” noting
The D.C. Circuit is internally conflicted but has not yet set precedent. A plurality of the Court sitting en banc suggested a due process right to intrastate travel might exist but did not reach the question. See Hutchins v. D.C., 188 F.3d 531, 538 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (en banc) (plurality opinion) (acknowledging “a hypothetical municipal restriction on the movement of its citizens, for example, a draconian curfew, might bring into play the concept of substantive due process,” but declining to find a fundamental right implicated by a juvenile curfew ordinance, in part because juveniles do not have the same rights as adults). In separate opinions, another plurality concluded a right to intrastate travel exists and ought to be subject to intermediate scrutiny. See id. at 553 n.1
Simply put, although four circuits (including our own) have found some form of a constitutional right to intrastate travel, there is hardly a “robust consensus” that the right exists, let alone clarity as to its contours. Although Lutz is both clear and binding in our jurisdiction, this area of law as a whole is far from settled. Based on the Supreme Court‘s qualified immunity precedent, we hold the District Court erred in concluding Lutz, standing alone, provided fair warning that Defendants conduct was illegal, especially in view of the state of the law in our sister circuits. See Carroll, 135 S. Ct. at 351. “[W]hether or not the constitutional rule applied by the court below was correct, it was not ‘beyond debate.‘” Id. at 352 (quoting Stanton v. Sims, 571 U.S. 3, 10-11 (2013) (per curiam)).
Accordingly, we will reverse and vacate Defendants’ civil rights convictions and remand with instructions to dismiss Counts 8 and 9 of the indictment under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b). See Cicco, 938 F.2d at 446-47. Because we reverse and vacate Defendants’ convictions, we need not reach their arguments concerning the jury instructions on the civil rights counts.
VI.
For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm Defendants’ judgments of convictions as to the wire fraud and Section 666 counts (Counts 1 through 7), and we will reverse and vacate only as to the civil rights counts (Counts 8 and 9). Because we
Notes
J.A. 307 (footnote omitted). The District Judge declined to adopt this language but told Defendants they were free to make this argument to the jury. While the GovernmentHowever, if an organization grants or bestows upon an employee the power or authority to control the organization‘s money or property, and the employee acts within the bounds of that power or authority, then you cannot find a scheme to defraud. Thus, if you find the Port Authority granted or bestowed upon David Wildstein or Mr. Baroni the power or authority to control the Port Authority money or property at issue here, and David Wildstein or Mr. Baroni acted within the bounds of that power or authority, then you cannot find a scheme to defraud existed. . . . Mr. Baroni and Ms. Kelly contend that the proof establishes that the Port Authority granted David Wildstein and Mr. Baroni the right to control the Port Authority money and property at issue here, which would prevent the existence of a scheme to defraud.
J.A. 5107.In order to find the defendants guilty of violating
Section 666(a)(1)(A) , you must find that the Government proved each of the following five elements beyond a reasonable doubt. First, that from August through December, 2013, Mr. Baroni or Mr. Wildstein was an agent of the PortAuthority. Second, that in the calendar year 2013, the Port Authority received federal benefits in excess of $10,000. Third, that the defendants obtained by fraud, knowingly converted, or intentionally misapplied Port Authority property. Fourth, that the property obtained by fraud, knowingly converted, or intentionally misapplied, was owned by or was in the care, custody or control of the Port Authority. And fifth, that the value of the property obtained by fraud, knowingly converted, or intentionally misapplied was at least $5,000.
Id. (quoting S. Rep. No. 98-225, at 370, 1984 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 3511). And while Section 665 makes it a crime for anIn many cases, such prosecution is impossible because title has passed to the recipient before the property is stolen, or the funds are so commingled that the Federal character of the funds cannot be shown. This situation gives rise to a serious gap in the law, since even though title to the monies may have passed, the Federal Government clearly retains a strong interest in assuring the integrity of such program funds.
J.A. 5194.The defendants also agreed to misuse the time and the services of Port Authority employees. Those services have value. They‘re worth money. And that‘s Port Authority money. The Port Authority money that was paid to those employees. And because the Port Authority paid the salaries of each of the employees who wasted their time in furtherance of the defendants’ scheme to punish the Mayor. And that includes the salary paid to the overtime toll booth collectors for the one remaining toll booth that was accessible to Fort Lee. That also includes the money paid to Baroni and Wildstein themselves while they spent time wasting, wasting their time in furtherance of this conspiracy. When they were suppose[d] to be working to advance the Port Authority‘s interests. And it includes money paid to the engineers who wasted time—and Port Authority professional staff, who wasted time collecting data that no one ever wanted.
Greenlaw v. United States, 554 U.S. 237, 253-54 (2008) (citations omitted); United States v. Hodge, 870 F.3d 184, 188 (3d Cir. 2017) (remanding “for requisite resentencing” where some, but not all, counts of convictions were vacated).[Sentencing package] cases typically involve multicount indictments and a successful attack by a defendant on some but not all of the counts of conviction. The appeals court, in such instances, may vacate the entire sentence on all counts so that, on remand, the trial court can reconfigure the sentencing plan to ensure that it remains adequate to satisfy the sentencing factors in
18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) . In remanded cases, the Government relates, trial courts have imposed a sentence on the remaining counts longer than the sentence originally imposed on those particular counts, but yielding an aggregate sentence no longer than the aggregate sentence initially imposed. Thus the defendant ultimately may gain nothing from his limited success on appeal, but he will also lose nothing, as he will serve no more time than the trial court originally ordered.