Fischer v. United States (2000)

For the case related to the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack, see Fischer v. United States.

Fischer v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued February 22, 2000 Decided April 17, 2000
Full case name	Jeffrey Fischer v. United States of America
Citations	529 U.S. 667 (more) 168 F.3d. L. Ed. 2d 1273
Argument	Oral argument
Holding
Medicare funds received by health care providers constitute "benefits" within the meaning of the federal bribery statute prohibiting fraud and other offenses against organizations receiving federal benefits
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
Majority	Kennedy, joined by Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
Dissent	Thomas, joined by Scalia

Fischer v United States, 529 U.S. 667 (2000), was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that the scope of the federal bribery statute 18 U.S.C. § 666(b), which applied to organizations that received "benefits in excess of $10,000 under a Federal program", included funds received through Medicare.

Opinion of the Court

In a 7-2 opinion written by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the Court held that, "The government has a legitimate and significant interest in prohibiting financial fraud or acts of bribery being perpetrated upon Medicare providers.... Fraudulent acts threaten the program's integrity...."

Thomas' dissent

Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Antonin Scalia, argued that Medicare funds did not constitute bribery as the only people who ultimately received the benefits were patients.

External links

• Text of 'Fischer v United States, 529 U.S. 667 (2000) is available from: Justia Oyez (oral argument audio)