Supreme Court ruling on Indiana mayor is latest to weaken corruption laws

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.

Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Supreme Court's conservative majority overturns bribery conviction of ex-Indiana mayor James SnyderThe Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the bribery conviction of a former Indiana mayor, who won his challenge of a corruption law that had ensnared him for accepting gifts while in office.
Source: WashTimes - 🏆 235. / 63 Read more »

Oklahoma Supreme Court court rejects proposed religious public charter schoolThe state Supreme Court said the first-of-its-kind school, approved last year by the charter school board, violated the state and U.S. constitution.
Source: adndotcom - 🏆 293. / 63 Read more »

The one court that even the Supreme Court sees as going too farSteve Benen is a producer for 'The Rachel Maddow Show,' the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of 'The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics.'
Source: MSNBC - 🏆 469. / 51 Read more »

Trump campaign reacts to bump stock Supreme Court decision: ‘The court has spoken’Former President Donald Trump's campaign supported the Supreme Court's decision to strike down a Trump administration ban on 'bump stocks,' which enable semiautomatic weapons to fire rounds faster.
Source: dcexaminer - 🏆 6. / 94 Read more »

Supreme Court sides with Starbucks, makes it harder for NLRB to win court ordersThe justices tightened the standards for when a federal court should issue an order to protect the jobs of workers during a union organizing campaign.
Source: komonews - 🏆 272. / 63 Read more »