Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Bribery – Sufficiency of the evidence

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//March 26, 2015//

Bribery – Sufficiency of the evidence

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//March 26, 2015//

Listen to this article

U.S. Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Bribery – Sufficiency of the evidence

Where the defendants believed an undercover officer was a county official willing to accept a bribe, the evidence was sufficient to convict them of conspiracy to commit bribery.

“There is also abundant evidence in the record that, regardless of which entity or entities employed the fictional corrupt official, the conspirators reasonably believed Castro’s claims that the official could act on behalf of Los Angeles County. The allure of the deal and the reason for paying the agreed bribe were precisely that this corrupt official could guarantee approval for the sizeable contract by the county’s Board of Supervisors. And by definition, a person qualifies ‘as an agent of an entity’ when he is ‘authorized to act on behalf of that entity.’ United States v. Keen, 676 F.3d 981, 990 (11th Cir. 2012). The jury heard sufficient evidence to support its finding that the $10,000 element was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Affirmed.

14-1278 and 14-1100 U.S. v. Buenrostro

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Tharp, J., Hamilton, J.

Full Text

 

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests