Cite as: 527 U. S. 1 (1999)
Syllabus
with errors infringing upon the jury's factfinding role and affecting its deliberative process in ways that are not readily calculable: Is it clear beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational jury would have found the defendant guilty absent the error? See, e. g., Arizona v. Fulminante, 499 U. S. 279. Where an omitted element is supported by uncontroverted evidence, this approach appropriately balances "society's interest in punishing the guilty . . . and the method by which decisions of guilt are made." Connecticut v. Johnson, supra, at 86. Pp. 15-20.
2. Materiality is an element of a "scheme or artifice to defraud" under the federal mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud statutes. Pp. 20-25.
(a) Under the framework set forth in United States v. Wells, 519 U. S. 482, the first step is to examine the statutes' text. The statutes neither define "scheme or artifice to defraud" nor even mention materiality. Thus, based solely on a reading of the text, materiality would not be an element of these statutes. However, a necessary second step in interpreting statutory language provides that " '[w]here Congress uses terms that have accumulated settled meaning under . . . the common law, a court must infer, unless the statute otherwise dictates, that Congress means to incorporate the established meaning of these terms.' " Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Darden, 503 U. S. 318, 322. At the time of the mail fraud statute's enactment in 1872 and the later enactments of the wire fraud and bank fraud statutes, the well-settled, common-law meaning of "fraud" required a misrepresentation or concealment of material fact. Thus, this Court cannot infer from the absence of a specific reference to materiality that Congress intended to drop that element from the fraud statutes and must presume that Congress intended to incorporate materiality unless the statutes otherwise dictate. Contrary to the Government's position, the fact that the fraud statutes sweep more broadly than the common-law crime "false pretenses" does not rebut the presumption that Congress intended to limit criminal liability to conduct that would constitute common-law fraud. Durland v. United States, 161 U. S. 306, distinguished. Nor has the Government shown that the language of the fraud statutes is inconsistent with a materiality requirement. Pp. 20-25.
(b) The Court of Appeals is to determine in the first instance whether the jury-instruction error was, in fact, harmless. Carella v. California, supra, at 266-267. P. 25.
136 F. 3d 1459, affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
Rehnquist, C. J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court with respect to Parts I and III, and the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts II and IV, in which O'Connor, Kennedy, Thomas, and Breyer, JJ., joined. Stevens, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in
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