The ruling says federal corruption law prohibiting payments to public officials only applies when officials accept gifts before taking government action.
Former Portage, Ind., mayor James Snyder arrives at federal court in Hammond, Ind., for his sentencing on bribery and tax violation charges on Oct. 13, 2021. The Supreme Court vacated the bribery conviction of a former Indiana mayor Wednesday, a decision that continues a recent trend by the justices to narrow the scope of corruption laws targeting public officials.
The former mayor, who has maintained his innocence in the case, claimed the payment was for consulting work. A federal jury convicted Snyder of accepting an illegal gratuity and he was sentenced to nearly two years in prison. Writing for the majority, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh found Congress narrowly tailored the particular statute to apply to bribes, saying legislators left it to state and local and local officials to regulate gratuities.Kavanaugh said the government’s interpretation of the law “would radically upend gratuities rules” and turn the federal statute into a “vague and unfair trap for 19 million state and local officials.
States and local governments regulate gratuities in a variety of ways. Some states allow public officials to accept those that fall below a certain threshold, while others bar officials from accepting gifts for specific activities like speaking engagements. Many states make exemptions for gifts from friends and family, travel reimbursements and ceremonial gifts like honorary degrees.Alliance for Justice, said the decision was distressing.
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