United States v. Renzi (Ninth Circuit)

Our client, a former U.S. Congressman, was indicted on public-corruption and other charges stemming from his time in office and his operation of an insurance agency. We represented Mr. Renzi throughout the pre-trial and trial proceedings, successfully obtaining dismissal of approximately 1/3 of the charges and obtaining acquittals on another 1/3. On appeal of the remaining charges, we argued, among other things, that the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution barred Mr. Renzi’s prosecution for the public-corruption offenses, that there was insufficient evidence to support the convictions under proper readings of the relevant statutes, and that the government violated Mr. Renzi’s rights to due process and to present a defense.