NCJ Number
89644
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: (Winter 1983) Pages: 423-464
Date Published
1983
Length
42 pages
Annotation
The dramatic expansion of judicial interpretations of the federal mail fraud statute over the past forty years has been a cause for celebration by federal prosecutors and a source of concern for many commentators. In the following Article, the author introduces a practitioner's perspective into the debate.
Abstract
He attributes the rapid growth of the mail fraud statute to two interrelated sources: the operation of federal investigations and the willingness of courts to adopt interpretations of the statute that conform to the scope of federal prosecution. The recent conviction of Nassau County Republican Party Chairman Joseph Margiotta is considered as a paradigmatic example of the statute's overextension. The author then critically evaluates several recent proposals for judicial and executive limitations on the statute. He concludes by offering a legislative solution: a redrafted mail fraud statute that includes a precise definition of a 'scheme to defraud.' (Publisher abstract)