For the Defense - Volume 1, Issue 3 - 2016 - 32
It's Official. All Acts by Politicians
Are Not Subject to Prosecution:
The Supreme Court's Interpretation
of the Meaning of "Official Acts" in
McDonnell v. United States
Mark M. Lee and Benjamin D. Wanger
ON
January 15, 2016, the United
States Supreme Court granted
certiorari in Robert F. McDonnell
v. United States, to review the Fourth Circuit's decision affirming the public corruption convictions of
former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell and
to determine the scope of an "official action" as
used in the federal bribery statute, Hobbs Act,
and honest-services fraud statute.1 The United
States Supreme Court heard argument in this
matter on April 27, 2016, and on June 27, 2016,
the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion,
vacating the Fourth Circuit's judgment which had
32
For The Defense | Vol. 1, Issue 3
upheld McDonnell's convictions.2 The Supreme
Court characterized the government's definition
of an "official act" as overly broad3 and held that
"a more limited interpretation of the term 'official
act' leaves ample room for prosecuting corruption,
while comporting with the text of the statute and
the precedent of this Court."4 In so doing, the
Court altered the landscape of public corruption
prosecutions by the federal government.
The case involves the criminal conviction of
Robert McDonnell, who served as the Governor
of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2010 to
2014. In 2014, the government indicted Governor
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Volume 1, Issue 3 - 2016
Contents
For the Defense - Volume 1, Issue 3 - 2016 - 1
For the Defense - Volume 1, Issue 3 - 2016 - 2
For the Defense - Volume 1, Issue 3 - 2016 - Contents
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