Bribes, Gratuities, and Corruption After Snyder v. US
On June 26, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a controversial decision in Snyder v. United States that held that federal law banning public officials from accepting certain payments (18 U.S.C. § 666) only criminalizes bribes received in exchange for official acts. The Court held that the statute does not apply to “gratuities” or gifts – such as gift cards or lunches – given for past acts, absent a quid pro quo agreement between the payor and the official.
The Court explained that “[b]ribes” are “payments made or agreed to before an official act” to influence the official to carry out “that future official act.” By contrast, “gratuities” are payments made “after an official act,” “with no agreement beforehand,” and “are not the same as bribes before the official act.” Having made that distinction the Court said that “American law generally treats bribes as inherently corrupt and unlawful . . . [b]ut the law’s treatment of gratuities is more nuanced.”
This case involves James Snyder, the former mayor of Portage, Indiana. In 2013, while Snyder was mayor, Portage awarded two contracts to a local truck company, Great Lakes Peterbilt, and ultimately purchased five trash trucks from the company for about $1.1 million. In 2014, Peterbilt cut a $13,000 check to Snyder. The FBI and federal prosecutors suspected that the payment was a gratuity for the City’s trash truck contracts. Snyder said that the payment was for his consulting services for Peterbilt. A federal jury ultimately convicted Snyder of accepting an illegal gratuity in violation of §666(a)(1)(B). The District Court sentenced Snyder to 1 year and 9 months in prison. On appeal, Snyder argued that §666 criminalizes only bribes, not gratuities.
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