Theodore E. Suhl v. United States

This case involves the scope of the federal bribery laws as applied to alleged payors of bribes. In the decision under review, the court of appeals approved jury instructions that allowed petitioner to be convicted of federal bribery offenses based on a finding that he gave a state official money with a general intent to influence that official; the instructions did not require a finding that petitioner specifically intended a quid pro quo exchange of money for a particular official act. While acknowledging that an intended quid pro quo exchange was an element of a federal bribery offense, the court of appeals concluded that the instructions were sufficient. The question presented is as follows: Whether the government may obtain convictions for bribery under the honest-services fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. 1346, and the federal-programs bribery statute, 18 U.S.C. 666, in the absence of jury instructions expressly requiring an intended quid pro quo exchange. (I)