Under Hobbs Act, extortion includes exploitation of fear of economic loss in order to obtain property to which exploiter is not entitled

STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION United States v. Vigil, No. 07-2060, ___ F.3d ___ (10th Cir. April 29, 2008)(New Mexico). Appeal of conviction for attempted extortion in violation of Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951. HELD: (1) Where government presented evidence that defendant attempted to force contract bidder to hire political crony as condition for receiving state contract, reasonable jury could conclude evidence demonstrated defendant attempted to extort property by obtaining bidder’s intangible right to make business decisions free from outside pressure and to decide with whom to work. Under Hobbs Act, extortion includes exploitation of fear of economic loss in order to obtain property to which exploiter is not entitled. Cognizable property rights under Hobbs Act include intangible property rights including right to contract with party of one’s choosing, right to make business decisions free from outside pressure, and right to decide with whom to work. (2) Under Hobbs Act, extortion may be proved where payments are made to third party. Thus, where state government official attempted to require that bidder hire political crony as condition of award of contract, official was attempting to obtain money from bidder by directing payments to third party. Read the opinion here.