Will 2 Supreme Court rulings help former Ohio GOP Chair Matt Borges appeal his conviction?

Former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges wants to appeal his criminal conviction, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision throwing out the conviction of ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's aide.

Borges' lead attorney, Karl Schneider, is asking U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black for more time to file post-trial motions, given that two potentially relevant supreme court decisions came just last week.

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that federal prosecutors had overreached in the New York public corruption case. The aide, Joseph Percoco, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2018 for accepting money from companies seeking to influence the Cuomo administration as it worked on a project to revitalize Buffalo, the Associated Press reported.

The Supreme Court ruled that the jury instructions were too broad in Percoco's case. "(I)mplying that the public has a right to a private person’s honest services whenever that private person’s clout exceeds some ill-defined threshold − is too vague," wrote Justice Samuel Alito.

But the Supreme Court stopped short of tossing the federal law altogether. Private citizens could violate honest services wire fraud if they acted like an agent of the government.

The Supreme Court's ruling in a second case, Ciminelli versus the United States, narrowed how federal prosecutors can use wire fraud laws, according to SCOTUSblog.com.

Borges argues that political operative Tyler Fehrman wasn't acting as a government official when he was collecting signatures to block House Bill 6, a $1.3 billion bailout for two nuclear plants in northern Ohio. Therefore, the $15,000 check that Borges gave him for insider information about the ballot referendum wasn't a bribe.

More: 'It's terrifying': FBI tipster who wore wire in Larry Householder, Matt Borges case talks

Borges pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy. A federal jury convicted him and co-defendant Larry Householder, the former Ohio House speaker.

Householder is scheduled to be sentenced June 29. Borges is set to be sentenced on June 30. Both face up to 20 years in prison.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Convicted former Ohio GOP leader wants more time for appeal.