A U.S. Supreme Court review of the insider trading conviction of Qwest's former chief executive officer Joseph Nacchio, federal attorneys argue, is unwarranted, as Nacchio appeals his 2007 conviction from behind bars. In a brief filed late last week, the attorneys claim jurors acted reasonably when they found Nacchio guilty on 19 counts of insider trading after prosecutors said Nacchio sold $52 million in stock while Qwest Communications International struggled financially (via The Associated Press). The filing comes as a federal judge granted final approval, in a separate case, for $695 million in settlements to Qwest shareholders in the wake of several class action lawsuits that began in 2001, "when multibillion dollar accounting discrepancies began surfacing," writes Reuters. Meanwhile, Qwest's new CEO, Ed Mueller, supports President Barack Obama's push to create the nation's first cyber security czar, arguing the initiative will support the "values of civil liberties and protected privacy, as well as promoting economic growth, while enhancing the trustworthiness of the global cyberspace" (via the Denver Business Journal).