The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated its reversal of the defendants’ convictions for the attempted extortion of entertainer Bill Cosby Nov. 15. The court reconsidered the case on the government’s motion for rehearing in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s harmless-error test in Neder v. U.S., 119 S. Ct. 1827 (1999) (U.S. v. Jackson, 2d Cir., Nos. 97-1711(L) etc., Kearse, C.J., 11/15/99, vacating 180 F.3d 55 (2d Cir. 1999)) (1 Crim. Just. Wkly. 87 (6/22/99)).
The defendants, Autumn Jackson, who believes she is Cosby’s illegitimate daughter, and two associates, were convicted of threatening to injure the entertainer’s reputation with the intent to extort $40 million in violation of 18 U.S.C. ��875(d) and 2, violation of the Travel Act, 18 U.S.C. ��1952(a)(3) and 2, and conspiring to commit extortion, 18 U.S.C. �371.
