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Bribery by or Executive Officers or Public Employees Law in California

Secs 67 and 68 of the California Penal Code is covered under the general prohibition on bribery. Bribery, in essence, is a public official corruptly making a decision or does an official act in exchange for money or something else of value.

The first law, Sec 67 of the California Penal Code, involves illegal agreements with executive officers. It is considered as a felony offense for any person to give or offer to give an executive officer something of value with a corrupt intent to influence the officer’s decision on an official matter. In this law, the coverage includes district attorneys, police chiefs, police officers and deputy city coroners.

In Sec 67.5 of the California Penal Code, the law covers bribes of ministerial officials and public employees. This is a felony offense that prohibits any person to give or offer to give a ministerial officer or public employee an item of value with a corrupt intent to influence the officer’s or employee’s decision in an official matter. The coverage of the law includes traffic clerks, building inspectors and other ministerial officers. An executive officer has discretion in the performance of their duties while ministerial officers follow these discretionary instructions.

Sec 68 of the California Penal Code covers deals and bribes by executive and ministerial officers and public employees. This is a felony offense that covers any executive or ministerial officers or public employees in asking, receiving or agreeing to receive something of value with a corrupt intent to influence the officer’s or employee’s decisions in the performance of their official duties.

When convicted for bribery, the imposable penalties include imprisonment, payment of fines, forfeiture of office or disqualification from future office. This crime is often prosecuted as a felony offense carrying imprisonment between two and four years in state prison. Aside from this penalty, the judge can require a restitution fine under the following circumstances:

If the bribe was not received, the fine to be paid is between $2,000 and $10,000;

If the bribe was received, when the bribe amounted to $2,000 whichever is greater or any larger amount of not more than twice the bribe amount received or $10,000 whichever is greater.

The crime of bribery of county supervisors or public corporations is a serious offense in California. Should you be or know anyone facing any of these charges, do reach out to the lawyers at the Law Offices of Ramiro J. Lluis for a free consultation today.