14.1: Bribery and Related Offenses

Public officials accepting bribes can feel like a dagger in the heart of our democracy. Such acts undermine the very essence of “public duty.” Individuals, while working in a public capacity should act for the benefit of all, and not for the benefit of a few. Alaska has graded both the crimes of Bribery and Receiving a Bribe as class B felonies. Bribery covers the person who bribes a public servant; receiving a bribe covers the public servant who solicits or accepts a bribe. The central evil within both statutes is the unlawful influences impacting public officials in the course of their public duties.

If a person offers a public servant a benefit with the intent to influence the public servant’s exercise of an official action, the person has committed the crime of bribery. AS 11.56.100. The statute does not distinguish between the accepted bribe and the offered, but unaccepted, bribe. The crime is completed once the bribe is offered. It is irrelevant if the public servant accepts the bribe. Bribery is similar to the inchoate offense of solicitation in this regard. For example, the driver who offers a police officer money during a traffic stop to persuade the police officer not to issue a ticket is guilty of bribery. The officer need not accept the bribe for criminal liability to attach.

The public servant commits the crime of receiving a bride if the public servant (1) solicits a benefit with the intent that they will exercise their official discretion to influence an outcome, or (2) accepts or agrees to accept a benefit with the understanding that the public servant will exercise their discretion to influence an official outcome. AS 11.56.110. The public servant need not act with a “corrupt intent;” it does not matter if the public official does not intend to follow through with the promised action. If the official knowingly accepts a benefit with the understanding that the benefit could influence the official’s action, the crime has occurred. See Bachlet v. State, 941 P.2d 200 (Alaska App. 1997). Thus, returning to the above example, if the officer accepts money from the driver, even if the officer had already decided not to issue the driver a ticket, the officer has committed the crime of receiving a bribe.

The term public servant includes any officer or employee of the state, municipality, or political subdivision. AS 11.81.900(b)(56). The public servant need not be a high-level executive or an elected official. The term specifically includes legislators, members of the judiciary, and police officers. It also includes less obvious public servants. Assistant public defenders, for example, fall squarely within its definition even though public defenders work on behalf of their clients, and not the government. Assistant public defenders are state employees and therefore are public servants. See Bachlet, 941 P.2d at 205. The definition does not include jurors, witnesses, or private employees working with the state. AS 11.81.900(b)(56). Separate criminal statutes cover the misconduct of jurors and witnesses. See e.g., AS 11.56.520.

You be the Judge …

Christine Mullin was a professional counselor with Fairbanks Treatment Associates (FTA), a private counseling company under contract with the Alaska Department of Corrections. FTA agreed to provide counseling services to inmates enrolled in the Sex Offender Treatment Program at the Fairbanks Correctional Complex. Mullin provided counseling services to inmates in the program and contributed to reports made for the participants in anticipation of parole hearings.

An FCC inmate in the sex offender program was preparing for an upcoming parole hearing. Mullin offered to provide a favorable progress report to the inmate in exchange for $25,000. The solicitation was reported to law enforcement and Mullin was ultimately convicted of receiving unlawful gratuities (discussed below). On appeal, Mullin argued that she was not a “public servant” since she was simply an employee of a private company doing work for the State of Alaska. Do you think Mullin is a “public servant” for purpose of the bribery statutes? Check your answer at the end of the chapter.

The Code defines benefit to include any “present or future gain or advantage to the beneficiary.” AS 11.81.900(b)(4). There is no requirement that the benefit is a pecuniary benefit, nor must the benefit result in an economic gain. Not all benefits are economic. For example, a college could take a favorable action in admitting a public servant’s child with the expectation that the public servant would, in return, take some favorable action on behalf of the college.

The statute excludes de minimis benefits that merely serve to provide a “climate for discussion” with a public servant (i.e., picking up a dinner tab or golfing fee) since the “benefit” itself is not intended or expected to influence an official decision. Benefit also excludes legitimate campaign contributions, routine lobbying activities, and campaign promises. AS 11.56.130(1),(3). Such insignificant benefits are better addressed in conflict of interest statutes and ethical conduct regulations. See commentary, Senate Journal Supp. No. 47, at 68-70 (June 12, 1978).

Finally, “benefit” does not include customary and normal negotiations that occur during the legislative process (sometimes referred to as legislative “log-rolling”); legitimate compromise between public officials to reach consensus is neither a benefit nor bribery. AS 11.56.130(2).

Unlawful Gratuities

The crime of receiving unlawful gratuities is a misdemeanor and similar to the crime of receiving a bribe but does not require that the government establish that the public servant received a benefit with an agreement to influence any official act. AS 11.56.120. The offense addresses gratuities received after the public servant has acted. The law focuses on the public servant who solicits or accepts tips, presents, or other unauthorized benefits for simply doing their job.

The law specifically draws a distinction between the act of soliciting a benefit and the act of accepting a benefit. The crime prohibits a public servant from soliciting any benefit, regardless of value. AS 11.56.120(a)(1). The crime also prohibits a public servant from accepting a benefit valued at more than $50 for having engaged in an official act, which they were required to perform without special compensation. AS 11.56.120(a)(2). Put another way, if a public servant solicits any benefit, they are guilty of a misdemeanor. But if public servant simply accepts a benefit, without soliciting it, they are only guilty of a crime if the benefit was valued at more than $50.

In the eyes of the legislature, although it is improper for a public servant to accept a benefit for performing their job, it is not criminal unless the value of the benefit is significant. For example, a public servant would not be criminally liable for accepting a box of candy on Christmas when they did not solicit it. The legislature recognizes that such activity is more properly left to personnel regulations and ethical guidelines rather than criminal law. See commentary, Senate Journal Supp. No. 47, at 70-71 (June 12, 1978).

Failure to Report Bribes

Alaska law includes the crime of failure to report a bribe. AS 11.56.124. If a public servant witnesses what they reasonably should know to be a bribe or an official receiving a bribe, the public servant has an affirmative obligation to report the conduct to law enforcement. AS 11.56.124(a). Failure to do so is a misdemeanor. AS 11.56.124(b). This statute criminalizes a public servant’s failure to act and imposes a burden on public servants due to their unique positions of trust within the community. Ignoring or turning a blind eye to ongoing bribery is a crime.