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DEADLINE: LEGAL BLOG


FROM DEADLINE: WHITE HOUSE WITH NICOLLE WALLACE

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WHAT 'VARSITY BLUES' AND SUPREME COURT FRAUD REVERSALS TELL US ABOUT THE SYSTEM

This week reminded us that the powerful and connected benefit most from the
courts. There are different conclusions to draw from that premise.

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May 12, 2023, 5:47 PM EDT
By Jordan Rubin

It was a banner week for overturning fraud convictions. On Wednesday, two
wealthy parents in the “Varsity Blues” college admissions probe got theirs
tossed by a federal appeals court, and on Thursday, the Supreme Court in two
cases sided with a business executive and a former aide to New York Gov. Andrew
Cuomo.

The reversals underscore the ongoing trend of the Supreme Court — unanimously,
to be clear — taking a skeptical view of the government’s far-reaching
prosecutions in white-collar fraud and public corruption cases. (The legal
issues in these cases were more complex than the charges reflected in, for
example, the Rep. George Santos indictment this week, where a reading of the New
York Republican’s alleged schemes suggest he might as well have been wearing a
sign that said: "Charge me with crimes." He has pleaded not guilty to the
charges, which include wire fraud and money laundering.)




But the college admissions and corruption case reversals also underscore that
the courts work to benefit the wealthy and well-connected. It’s difficult to
disagree with or look away from that fact. And it doesn’t necessarily reflect
well on the justices when one of the relatively few matters on which they
consistently find common ground are in rulings favoring people in their
professional class — those who might be seen as, or might even be, their peers.
Both corruption and the appearance of corruption on the nation’s high court are
top of mind for the American people these days.

With all of that said, it could be tempting to conclude that these
"white-collar" defendants are legally undeserving, while those who might be
called "blue-collar" defendants — say, death row prisoners — face a barrage of
Kafkaesque procedural hurdles under the thumb of a stingy GOP supermajority.

But another option is to embrace the government skepticism that the courts are
applying in favor of these better-heeled defendants and to press for that same
judicial energy for all.   

Jordan Rubin

Deadline: Legal Blog writer

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