Even a non-decision by the Supreme Court can cause waves. On October 5th, as part of its routine disclosure of upcoming cases, the Court declined to take up a petition related to insider trading. The Justice Department had wanted it to overturn an appeals court's decision in December to throw out the conviction of two hedge-fund managers. That means the decision will now stand, setting an important legal precedent. This is not only a blow to Preet Bharara, the federal prosecutor with jurisdiction over Wall Street who had brought the original case, but also an attack on an aggressive and-up to that point-successful approach to insider trading. Since his appointment in 2009 as the us Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mr Bharara's office has had a remarkable record in insider-trading cases: 87 findings of guilt, and only one acquittal.
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