Courtesy of WikiCommons
Okay folks, it’s time for us at USDemocrazy to consult our legal affairs correspondent for some advice (and, no it has nothing to do with that mountain of parking tickets under our carpet).
It just that we’ve heard a new phrase being used by the Supreme Court in recent days. The phrase is “Honest services”. When asked about the phrase, our resident Legal eagle said he would get back to us about it… here’s what he found:
It is a legal phrase…that involves fraud, honesty and services(duh)… The Supreme Court is hearing three cases about it during this current term and… NOBODY KNOWS WHAT IT REALLY MEANS!
Well, actually there are many interpretations of this phrase, that is why the Supreme Court is looking at it. The Court’s job is to clarify the law for everybody.
To help us learn about this puzzling phrase, our legal guy dug up some other smart folks on the web who know more this than we do:
The WSJ Law Blog helps us out, telling us what is befuddling the bar…
It’s a head scratcher – a vague standard that can seemingly encompass just about any manner of supposed sin.
The NYTimes’ Adam Liptak gives us the 411 on “honest services” and what it all means…
The “honest services” law, Justice Scalia explained, says that “officeholders and employees owe a duty to act only in the best interests of their constituents and employers.”
So there’s a glimpse into “honest services.” We here at USDemocrazy are a bit dazed and confused. If YOU can figure it out please let us know!
