Sekhar v. United States (2012)
- Docket
- 12-357
- Decided
- 2012-01-01
Summary
Question: Is the "recommendation" of an attorney, who is a salaried employee of a governmental agency, intangible property that can be the subject of an extortion attempt under the Hobbs Act? Conclusion: No. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion for the 9-0 majority. The Court held that attempting to compel a person to issue a favorable recommendation does not amount to extortion under the Hobbs Act. The Court determined that the right of the General Counsel to issue a professional recommendation is not transferrable, and therefore lacks an essential characteristic of extorted property. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. wrote an opinion concurring in the judgment in which he argued that the key question was whether the General Counsel’s recommendation constituted property. As internal recommendations are not property, the issue of transferability became irrelevant. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined the concurrence in the judgment.