Title Fight: Blaszczak (18) v. Dirks (15)

January 21, 2020  |  The Insider: White Collar Defense and Securities Enforcement

The day before New Year’s Eve, the Second Circuit issued a split decision in United States v. Blaszczak, ---F.3d ----, 2019 WL 7289753 (2d Cir. Dec. 30, 2019), holding, among other things, that the “personal benefit” test the Supreme Court announced in Dirks v. SEC, 463 U.S. 646 (1983) for insider trading cases charged under Title 15 does not apply to insider trading cases charged under the Title 18.* Much can and will be written about Blaszczak. This post, however, engages in a close reading of one important sentence in Blaszczak that purports to describe and to quote from Dirks, and assesses whether Dirks actually says what the Second Circuit suggests. To the extent Blaszczak misconstrues Dirks—a binding precedent—there is reason to question whether Blaszczak will withstand further scrutiny, or be followed by other courts. [...]

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