Litigation of counsel Martin Flumenbaum and firm Chairman Brad Karp’s latest Second Circuit Review column, “Writ of Coram Nobis Leads to Reversal,” appeared in the July 25 issue of the New York Law Journal. The authors discuss a recent decision in Johnson v. United States in which the Second Circuit reversed the lower court’s denial of a writ of coram nobis, which is used to correct errors “of the most fundamental character” after a final conviction, but while the petitioner still faces consequences from the conviction. The petitioner in Johnson is the former global head of HSBC’s foreign exchange trading desk, who was convicted in 2017 of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The panel found that the inclusion of a now-invalid theory of wire fraud at trial was not harmless error, therefore “justice requires the issuance of coram nobis.” The decision marks a significant development in the availability of writs of coram nobis and adds ammunition for contesting wire fraud convictions.
Litigation associate Michael Pisem assisted in the preparation of this column.
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