Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/23-108_8n5a.pdf
Page Number: 1

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2023 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is 
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued. 
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been 
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

SNYDER v. UNITED STATES 

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR 
THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT 

No. 23–108.  Argued April 15, 2024—Decided June 26, 2024 

Federal  and  state  law  distinguish  between  two  kinds  of  payments  to 
public officials—bribes and gratuities.  Bribes are typically payments
made or agreed to before an official act in order to influence the public
official with respect to that future official act.  Gratuities are typically 
payments made to a public official after an official act as a reward or 
token of appreciation.  While American law generally treats bribes as 
inherently corrupt and unlawful, the law’s treatment of gratuities is 
more nuanced.  Some gratuities might be innocuous, and others may
raise  ethical  and  appearance  concerns.    Federal,  state,  and  local 
governments have drawn different lines on which gratuities and gifts 
are acceptable and which are not. 

For example, Congress has established comprehensive prohibitions 
on both bribes and gratuities to federal officials.  If a federal official 
accepts a bribe for an official act, federal bribery law provides for a 15-
year maximum prison sentence.  See 18 U. S. C. §201(b).  By contrast,
if a federal official accepts a prohibited gratuity, federal gratuities law
sets a 2-year maximum prison sentence.  See §201(c).

In 1984, Congress passed and President Reagan signed a law now 
codified  at  18  U. S. C.  §666  that,  as  relevant  here,  extended  the 
gratuities  prohibition  in  §201(c)  to  most  state  and  local  officials. 
Congress reversed course after two years and amended §666 to avoid
the law’s “possible application to acceptable commercial and business
practices.”  H. R. Rep. No. 99–797, p. 30 (1986).  As amended, the text 
of §666 now closely resembles the bribery provision for federal officials,
§201(b),  and  makes  it  a  crime  for  most  state  and  local  officials  to 
“corruptly”  solicit,  accept,  or  agree  to  accept  “anything  of  value” 
“intending to be influenced or rewarded in connection with” any official 
business  or  transaction  worth  $5,000  or  more.    §§666(a)(1)(B),  (b).