NCJ Number
214590
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 43 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2006 Pages: 825-868
Date Published
2006
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the elements, defenses, and penalties of several Federal statutes enacted to prevent and punish corruption by public officials.
Abstract
Section 201 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code governs the offenses of bribery and illegal gratuity. "Public official" is defined as any "person who has been selected to be a public official." The key distinction between bribery and illegal gratuity is in the intent. Bribery requires "a specific intent to give or receive something of value in exchange for an official act." An illegal gratuity has a lesser intent element, in that it "requires only that the gratuity be given ... 'for or because of' an official act." Likely defenses against charges of bribery and illegal gratuity include entrapment, due-process issues, and duress or coercion. Penalties for bribery are distinguished by the circumstances and the amounts involved and whether the offense involved public officials or witnesses. Penalties that involve illegal gratuity offenses differ by the number of offenses, the amount, the position of the public official, and offenses that involve witnesses. One section of this article examines the elements of, defenses to, and penalties for various criminal conflict-of-interest charges. The statutes examined pertain to unauthorized compensations, limitations on the activities of government officers and employees while they are employed, the limitations that apply after termination of employment, the prohibition against acts that affect financial interest, and the prohibition against Federal employees receiving outside salaries. 366 footnotes