Justices to Consider if Venue Whiff Nets Trade Secrets Acquittal

A fisherman whose conviction for trade secrets theft was vacated because he was tried in the wrong state will get to argue to the US Supreme Court that he should have been acquitted instead.

The US government was set to try Timothy S. Smith for stealing proprietary fishing information in Alabama after a court vacated his Florida conviction, per US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit precedent. Smith’s extortion conviction withstood the venue challenge, and the jury acquitted him of computer fraud.

The case carries substantial implications for when the government chooses to try a defendant for any offense ...