Ocasio v. United States: The Scope of a Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Extortion

Ocasio v. United States presents the question of whether a conviction under the general federal conspiracy statute may be based on Hobbs Act extortion when a public official defendant has formed an agreement to obtain property from someone within the conspiracy. There is currently a circuit split on the question presented in Ocasio v. United States, which the Supreme Court will address. This commentary argues that the Court should allow a conviction under the general federal conspiracy statute to be based on Hobbs Act extortion when the property is obtained from someone within the conspiracy. This holding is consistent with the text of the Hobbs Act and prevents adverse policy consequences by denying an exemption for broader conspiracies.