United States v. John A. Hickey

Almost five years after he was first indicted, John A. Hickey filed a number of motions in the district court on the eve of trial. When the motions were denied, Hickey filed two interlocutory appeals, basing appellate jurisdiction on the collateral order doctrine. We determine that none of Hickey’s contentions raises a color-able claim under the collateral order doctrine and dismiss his appeals for lack of jurisdiction.

I

In September 1994, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a civil action against Hickey, his partner, Mamie Tang, and their partnerships. The SEC seized and closed down Continental Capital Financial Group (“CCFG”), which was controlled fifty percent each by Hickey and Tang. The SEC contended that from July 1992 through July 1994, CCFG raised $5 million by selling unregistered limited partnerships in Fund I, and raised $15 million by selling unregistered limited partnerships in Fund II. The SEC alleged that Hickey and Tang violated federal security laws by offering for sale unregistered securities and making material misrepresentations in the materials distributed to investors.

CCFG represented to potential investors that it owned certain real…