In a 9-0 vote, the US Supreme Court overturned the conviction of former Virginia governor Virginia Bob McDonnell for public corruption under the Hobbs Act. Chief Justice Roberts, writing for the Court said, “There 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’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute.” The Court went on to find that it was prosecutorial over-reach which invalidated the conviction, not the Governor’s distasteful acceptance of gifts.
However the Supreme Court’s narrowing of the definition of corruption under the Hobbs Act should have no effect on FCPA enforcement going forward. There are several reasons. First and foremost is that the Hobbs Act reaches acts by public officials acting in their official capacity. A public official commits a crime when he obtains a payment to which he is not entitled knowing that it was made in exchange for official acts.
