The decision, passed with a 6-3 majority split along ideological lines, marks a significant narrowing of public corruption law in the United States.
The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of former Indiana mayor James Snyder, overturning his bribery conviction.
The decision, passed with a 6-3 majority split along ideological lines, marks a significant narrowing of public corruption law in the United States.
The Associated Press reported that Snyder, a Republican, was convicted of accepting $13,000 from a trucking company, allegedly in exchange for steering approximately $1 million worth of city contracts towards them.
His lawyers argued that the money constituted payment for consulting services rather than a corrupt quid pro quo arrangement.
In a ruling that aligns with recent trends of limiting federal powers in corruption cases, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, criticised the government's broad interpretation of the law.
He emphasised that while Snyder's actions may be unethical, they did not violate the specific statute under which he was charged.
This decision continues a pattern set by previous high-profile cases, including the reversal of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's bribery conviction in 2016. Critics argue that such rulings could undermine efforts to combat public corruption effectively.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in a dissenting opinion joined by liberal colleagues, condemned the majority's interpretation as overlooking the clear intent of the law. She labelled Snyder's defence as an "absurd" distortion that undermines the statute's purpose.
Snyder, who served as mayor of Portage, Indiana, near Lake Michigan, from 2011 until his indictment in 2019, has consistently maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings.