The Supreme Court seemed ready on Monday to limit the reach of a federal statute that makes it a crime for state and local officials, along with institutions that receive federal money, to accept gifts and payments meant to influence or reward their actions.
Before the argument, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. announced that Justice Clarence Thomas would be absent but would participate in the case by reading the briefs and the transcript of the argument.
The chief justice did not say why.
The case concerned James Snyder, who was mayor of Portage, Ind., along Lake Michigan, when the city bought garbage trucks from a local company under a bidding process that prosecutors said had been manipulated to ensure the company prevailed.
After the process was complete, the company paid Mr. Snyder $13,000 for what he later said were consulting services.
The question for the justices was whether the law applies only to before-the-fact bribes or also to after-the-fact gratuities.
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On Monday, it appeared as though the Supreme Court would curtail the application of a federal statute that criminalizes accepting gifts and payments intended to influence or reward the actions of state, local, and federally funded institutions.
During a heated debate filled with fictitious questions concerning gifts ranging from cookies and Starbucks gift cards to Cheesecake Factory meals and ten-figure hospital donations, most justices appeared to be convinced that the government was interpreting the law too broadly.
Chief Justice John G. prior to the dispute. Roberts Jr. declared that Justice Clarence Thomas would participate in the case but not personally by reading the argument transcript and the briefs. The chief justice withheld his reasoning.
James Snyder was the mayor of Portage, Indiana, when the case was brought. in the vicinity of Lake Michigan, when the city purchased garbage trucks from a nearby business through a bidding procedure that, according to the prosecution, was rigged to favor the company. Following the procedure, Mr. Snyder received $13,000 from the company for what he later claimed to be consulting services.
The federal law, which applies to anyone “who solicits or demands for the benefit of any person, or accepts or agrees to accept, anything of value from any person, intending to be influenced or rewarded,” is what the prosecution accused Mr. Snyder of breaking. He received a sentence of 21 months in prison after being found guilty in March 2021.
The justices had to decide whether or not after-the-fact gratuities are covered by the law in addition to bribes made before the fact.
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