Justice Kavanaugh further clarified, “Section 666 is a vital statute, but its focus is targeted: Section 666 proscribes bribes to state and local officials, while allowing state and local governments to regulate gratuities to state and local officials.”
Bribery Law Doesn’t Criminalize Gratuities : Federalism and Policy Decisions
The court’s opinion stressed that disrupting state and local governments’ “carefully calibrated policy decisions” would “significantly infringe on bedrock federalism principles.” Although a gratuity offered and accepted after an official act may be unethical or illegal under other federal, state, or local laws, the gratuity does not violate §666, Kavanaugh wrote.
Bribery Law Doesn’t Criminalize Gratuities : The Snyder Case and Broader Impact
Snyder was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to 21 months in prison for accepting a $13,000 payment from a garbage truck company after he had already steered city contracts its way. The Supreme Court’s ruling could upend major corruption cases that were on hold in Chicago awaiting the decision, including sentencings for a former Commonwealth Edison CEO and three lobbyists convicted of a legislative bribery scheme at Illinois’ Capitol, as well as the corruption trial of Illinois’ former House Speaker, once the most powerful politician in the state.
Concerns Voiced During Oral Arguments
During oral arguments in April, several justices expressed concerns that the law, as written, could subject ordinary people to hefty prison sentences for routine gift-giving. They pressed the federal government to clarify the distinction between an innocuous fruit basket and a corruptly given reward.
Bribery Law Doesn’t Criminalize Gratuities : Legal Representation
Snyder is represented by Lisa Schiavo Blatt, Sarah M. Harris, Aaron Z. Roper, and Kari M. Lorentson of Williams & Connolly LLP, and Andréa E. Gambino. The government is represented by Elizabeth B. Prelogar, Colleen Roh Sinzdak, Nicole M. Argentieri, and Kevin J. Barber of the U.S. Department of Justice.
