When a vendor pays a mayor $13,000, is it a bribe? The U.S. Supreme Court will decide

The U.S. Supreme Court building this week after a snowfall in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Supreme Court building this week after a snowfall in Washington, D.C. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

A former Indiana mayor asked the high court to intervene in his corruption case and resolve a disparity in which “gratuities” from outsiders are considered OK in some courts, but not in others.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an Indiana case that could rewrite the rules for prosecutors trying to convict public officials for corruption for a vast swath of the country.

The central issue in the case, which the court put on its docket in December, is whether prosecutors must prove that public officials had an explicit agreement in place that they would get something valuable in exchange for a corrupt act in order to be convicted under the federal theft or bribery statute for state and local officials. That section of the law is the most commonly used provision in public corruption cases, targeting roughly 100 people a year.

Federal appeals courts in most of the country say prosecutors don’t have to prove that a “quid pro quo” arrangement existed to secure a conviction. Those courts say the government can prove corruption even if an official gets a “gratuity” after the fact. But judges in a few jurisdictions insist that prosecutors have to prove a quid pro quo arrangement existed.

“Whether people may spend years in federal prison should not turn on the happenstance of where they reside,” wrote lawyers for former Portage, Indiana, Mayor James Snyder in a petition to the Supreme Court. “Yet, as it stands, public servants, constituents and others in New York, Chicago and Miami can spend up to 10 years in prison for conduct that is not a federal crime in Boston or Houston. The current arbitrary disparity cries out for this court’s resolution.”

Snyder turned to the high court after he was convicted of taking $13,000 from a trucking company that won city contracts to provide garbage trucks. Snyder maintains that the payment was a valid transaction with his consulting business.

Snyder’s lawyers said the former mayor was trying to supplement his $62,000 government salary during the Great Recession with the consulting business, which is allowed under Indiana law. The mayor, according to his attorneys, “was financially strapped and owed tax penalties to the IRS” when he sought outside income. They say he helped the trucking company executives with issues like compliance with the then-new Affordable Care Act and technology issues.

Prosecutors, though, said Snyder tailored the specifications of the city contract so that Great Lakes Peterbilt would be the only competitive bidder. They said he was in frequent contact with the brothers who owned the company in the days before the bids were due. And they said Snyder provided several conflicting explanations about what the $13,000 was for.

When Snyder appealed his conviction, he argued that the payment was a gratuity rather than a bribe, and that the federal bribery law shouldn’t apply.

But a Chicago-based appeals court disagreed. The law, a three-judge panel noted, doesn’t actually use the words “bribe” or “gratuity.” Instead, it describes actions that “influenced or rewarded” a public official, the appeals court said, which would cover both bribes and gratuities.

Snyder’s lawyers said decisions that reached the opposite conclusion by two other appeals courts in different parts of the country should make the Chicago-based court reconsider its long-held stance, but the judges declined.

That clear conflict, Snyder’s lawyers told the Supreme Court, required the justices to intervene. “The battle lines are drawn, and only this court can break the logjam and restore uniformity on the meaning of an important federal criminal statute,” they wrote. “Officials and citizens across the country should not be left guessing when the everyday hustle and bustle of local politics becomes a federal crime.”

A group of criminal defense attorneys also urged the high court to examine the case, arguing that the Chicago-based court interpreted the law incorrectly.

“Millions of state and local government employees could face prosecution for a wide variety of conduct, with nothing short of a prosecutor’s own imagination as a check on how [the bribery law] could be used,” wrote attorneys for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

“Most local governments in the United States are run by part-time officials, many of whom maintain other careers outside their government service. But suddenly every car sold, every insurance policy written, every will drafted and every tooth pulled could be the hook for [criminal] liability if a prosecutor could characterize it as a gratuity for an official’s past conduct. The corrosive effect of that result on the relationships between local officials and their constituents cannot be overstated,” they added.

But the prosecutors told the high court that those fears were overblown. The federal law in question, they noted, specifies that defendants have to act “corruptly” in order to be convicted. It’s unclear whether the change that Snyder’s lawyers want the high court to make would even help the former Portage mayor. 

“The government provided evidence that petitioner received not just a gratuity but a quid pro quo bribe in connection with the city of Portage’s truck purchases,” they told the justices in a petition. Prosecutors at trial showed that Snyder rigged the bidding process in favor of the trucking company, they argued. “A reasonable jury would readily have inferred that petitioner would not have done so absent a quid pro quo agreement or understanding with the [owners].”

The Supreme Court’s decision to take the case has already impacted at least one high-profile corruption case. The trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was delayed from April until October, because the high court’s interpretation of the bribery statute could have an impact on Madigan's fate. Prosecutors charged Madigan with 22 racketeering and bribery charges in 2022, many related to his relationship with the power company Commonwealth Edison and his private law practice for property tax appeals.

The high court is expected to issue a decision in the Indiana case by the end of June.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.