United States v. Giordano

442 F.3d 30 (2006)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

United States v. Giordano

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
442 F.3d 30 (2006)

Facts

Philip Giordano was the mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut. Giordano had been paying a prostitute, Guitana Jones, for frequent sex for years. Through a phone tap arising from an unrelated investigation into political corruption, law-enforcement agencies heard calls between Jones and Giordano in which they discussed Jones bringing young girls to Giordano to have sex with him. The authorities soon removed Jones’s daughter and niece, who were nine and 11 years old at the time, from Jones’s home after determining that they were the girls being discussed in the calls. The investigation revealed that Jones had brought the girls to Giordano on numerous occasions so that Giordano could sexually assault them. The abuse had occurred in multiple locations, including in the mayor’s office in city hall and in the mayor’s official vehicle. Giordano was eventually charged and convicted of numerous crimes, including two counts of willfully violating the girls’ civil rights under color of law in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242. At trial the girls testified that they knew Giordano was the mayor at the time of the abuse. They also testified that they did not tell anyone about the assaults for fear of what Giordano could do to them or their families, after Giordano had told them that they would get in trouble and Jones would go to jail if they told. Giordano was eventually sentenced to serve 444 months in prison. Giordano appealed the § 242 convictions, arguing that the evidence failed to show that he was acting under color of law as required by the statute.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Sotomayor, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 816,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership