The Supreme Court again pared back a public corruption law, saying that state and local officials who accept “gratuities” aren’t covered by a federal bribery statute. The 6-3 opinion by Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday was the latest in a string of cases cutting the reach of federal corruption laws and prosecutorial discretion to bring charges against government officials, Bloomberg Law reports. In Snyder v. United States, the justices said a law making it a crime for certain state or local officials to “corruptly” accept anything of value over $5,000 doesn’t reach gratuities paid in recognition of past actions.
The ruling reversed the conviction of former Portage, Ind., Mayor James Snyder for receiving $13,000 from a trucking company after it was awarded city contracts. A contrary ruling would have had the potential to criminalize “commonplace gratuities” like a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card, Chipotle dinner, or tickets to a Hoosiers game, the court said. Writing for the liberal justices in dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the court majority's “absurd and atextual reading of the statute is one only today’s Court could love.” The justices’ concern over prosecutorial overreach could have implications for a number of criminal cases over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The justices in Fischer v. United States are considering whether federal prosecutors went too far in charging some defendants with violating an Enron-era statute prohibiting obstruction of an official proceeding.
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