High Court questions Conrad Black's conviction

U.S. Supreme Court justices questioned the conviction of Conrad Black, the former Hollinger Inc. chairman who is serving a 6½-year prison sentence for mail fraud and obstruction of justice.

Several justices, at an hour-long hearing yesterday, asked whether the federal law under which Black was convicted is too vague. The justices expressed concern that the law could be used to prosecute people merely because they aren't always working their hardest and acting in the best interest of their employer.

Out of 150 million workers in the U.S., "I think possibly 140 (million) of them would flunk your test," Justice Stephen Breyer told a lawyer for the U.S. who is defending the conviction.

Employees who leave work early to go to a ballgame or read the Daily Racing Form at their desks might be prosecuted, some justices theorized.

Black, 65, was convicted in 2007 of stealing $6.1 million from the newspaper publishing company, and a U.S. appeals court upheld the conviction. Black and two other onetime Hollinger executives say the appeals court improperly expanded the scope of the federal mail fraud law, allowing a conviction even though the company wasn't at risk of losing money.

The Supreme Court's ruling in the case, due by July, also may affect former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling, who has raised similar issues in asking the high court to review his conviction.

The justices yesterday repeatedly asked U.S. Deputy Solicitor general Michael Dreeben how a ruling in the Black case could affect Skilling. Dreeben said he would withhold comment until lawyers in the Skilling case file all their court papers.

The case is Black v. United States, 08-876, U.S. Supreme Court (Washington).