Supreme Court Jumps Into Insider-Trading Fray
The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Salman v.
United States to address what the government must prove to win
an insider-trading case. In the case below, United States v. Salman, the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit took a different tack from
that of the Second Circuit in United States v. Newman. In
Newman, the Second Circuit clarified what the government
must prove to win a conviction for insider trading. Salman
gave the Ninth Circuit an opportunity to follow suit. Sitting by
designation on the Ninth Circuit panel that considered the case,
Southern District of New York Judge Jed S. Rakoff penned the panel
opinion affirming the conviction. In the case, defendant Bassam
Yacoub Salman was trading on inside information he knew was coming
from his brother-in-law. Salman was convicted, and he appealed.
While his appeal was pending, the Newman decision came
out, and Salman urged the Ninth Circuit to adopt Newma
