State legislative records or news reports

Supreme Court Rules 6-3 in Snyder v. U.S., Narrows Anti-Corruption Law on Gratuities

Jun 26, 2024, 02:22 PM

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered its final opinion of the day in the case of Snyder v. U.S., ruling 6-3 on Wednesday that a federal anti-corruption law (18 U.S.C. §666) does not criminalize state and local officials accepting gratuities for past acts. Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion, while Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and all three liberal justices dissented. The decision narrows the scope of public corruption law and has led to the overturning of the bribery conviction of former Portage, Indiana Mayor James Snyder. The ruling indicates that while the law proscribes bribes to state and local officials, it does not extend to after-the-fact rewards.