{"id":41332,"date":"2016-06-27T13:10:30","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T17:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=41332"},"modified":"2016-06-27T13:10:30","modified_gmt":"2016-06-27T17:10:30","slug":"former-va-governor-has-public-corruption-conviction-overturned-by-the-scotus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=41332","title":{"rendered":"Former VA Governor has public corruption conviction overturned by the SCOTUS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supreme Court overturns corruption conviction of former Va. governor McDonnell<\/h2>\n

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By Robert Barnes
\nThe Washington Post<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously overturned <\/a>former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell\u2019s public corruption conviction and made it harder to prosecute public officials for alleged wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

The court said it had no opinion on whether McDonnell should be retried under the stricter standards the decision imposes, but Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. described the former governor\u2019s actions as \u201ctawdry\u201d in announcing the decision from the bench.<\/p>\n

McDonnell\u2019s promising political career was derailed by his entanglement with a businessman who showered McDonnell and his family with luxury gifts and financial benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the court below determines that there is sufficient evidence for a jury to convict Governor McDonnell of committing or agreeing to commit an \u2018official act,\u2019 his case may be set for a new trial,\u201d Roberts wrote. \u201cIf the court instead determines that the evidence is insufficient, the charges against him must be dismissed. We express no view on that question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts added: \u201cThere is no doubt that this case is distasteful; it may be worse than that. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the government\u2019s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/i>View Photos<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favor of the former Virginia governor in corruption case.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[Past coverage: Supreme Court justices seem skeptical of McDonnell\u2019s conviction]<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were convicted by a federal jury in 2014, and McDonnell was close to reporting to prison before the Supreme Court decided to take his case.<\/p>\n

The McDonnell case stems from more than $175,000 in loans and gifts \u2014 a Rolex watch, vacations, partial payments of a daughter\u2019s wedding reception, among them \u2014 that the governor and his family received from Richmond businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr. Williams, the chief executive of Star Scientific, wanted state universities to perform important clinical tests on a dietary supplement the company had developed.<\/p>\n

The gifts were not barred by Virginia law, and the tests were not conducted. But federal prosecutors said Williams\u2019s generosity was part of an illegal quid pro quo arrangement. McDonnell\u2019s part of the deal, they said, came in the form of meetings arranged to connect Williams with state officials, a luncheon Williams was allowed to throw at the governor\u2019s mansion to help launch the product, and a guest list Williams was allowed to shape at a mansion reception meant for health-care leaders.<\/p>\n

McDonnell and his lawyers said he never took any official state action to benefit Williams. He amassed an outpouring of bipartisan officials who told the court that upholding McDonnell\u2019s conviction would criminalize the routine favors that politicians do for benefactors and give federal prosecutors too much power.<\/p>\n

[More court news: Supreme Court strikes down Texas abortion clinic restrictions<\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n

Hank Asbill, one of McDonnell\u2019s attorneys, said the former governor was \u201cvery happy about the opinion.\u201d McDonnell was in Virginia Beach when he received word of the court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m certainly very gratified with the result,\u201d Asbill said.<\/p>\n

Asbill noted that McDonnell\u2019s defense team said in January 2015 that the legal battle would be a \u201cmarathon,\u201d and he now believed they had \u201crun that full race.\u201d He said it was possible prosecutors could continue to press the case, though they had not yet indicated what their plans were.<\/p>\n

Justice Department officials had no immediate comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve proved the governor didn\u2019t get a fair trial because he was prosecuted on flawed legal instructions,\u201d Asbill said.<\/p>\n

In Monday\u2019s ruling, Roberts wrote: \u201cSetting up a meeting, calling another public official, or hosting an event does not, standing alone, qualify as an \u2018official act.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that for prosecutors to prevail, they must identify a \u201cquestion, matter, cause, suit, proceeding or controversy\u201d that \u201cmay at any time be pending\u201d or \u201cmay by law be brought\u201d before a public official.<\/p>\n

Secondly, the government must prove that the public official made a decision or took an action \u201con\u201d that question, matter, cause, suit, proceeding, or controversy, or agreed to do so, Roberts wrote. \u201cThe issue here is whether arranging a meeting, contacting another official, or hosting an event \u2014 without more\u201d qualifies, Roberts wrote.<\/p>\n

He said that matter before a public official must be \u201cof the same stripe as a lawsuit before a court, a determination before an agency or a hearing before a committee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts said the government took too broad a view of when a politician\u2019s actions can be viewed as nefarious.<\/p>\n

\u201cConscientious public officials arrange meetings for constituents, contact other officials on their behalf, and include them in events all the time,\u201d the chief justice wrote. \u201cThe basic compact underlying representative government assumes that public officials will hear from their constituents and act appropriately on their concerns \u2014 whether it is the union official worried about a plant closing or the homeowners who wonder why it took five days to restore power to their neighborhood after a storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Local Politics Alerts<\/p>\n

Breaking news about local government in D.C., Md., Va.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

He said the government\u2019s position \u201ccould cast a pall of potential prosecution over these relationships\u201d if the union or group made some show of gratitude.<\/p>\n

But the court seemed concerned that it could be seen as endorsing politics-as-usual, which has been cited by angry voters this year in elections.<\/p>\n

Roberts took pains not to excuse McDonnell\u2019s conduct. Even though McDonnell and his supporters said his conviction made routine acts performed by politicians illegal, Roberts disagreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of this, of course, is to suggest that the facts of this case typify normal political interaction between public officials and their constituents,\u201d he wrote. \u201cFar from it. But the government\u2019s legal interpretation is not confined to cases involving extravagant gifts or large sums of money, and we cannot construe a criminal statute on the assumption that the government will \u2018use it responsibly.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

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