Supreme Court of California

The bribery counts and the related portions of the conspiracy count against defendants are not barred as a matter of law merely because the indictment alleges that defendant Burum was the offeror of the bribes or that defendant Erwin acted as Burum's agent, where: 1) although neither the offer nor payment of a bribe in itself can establish that the offeror aided and abetted the separate crime of receiving the same bribe, the status of being the offeror or payor of a bribe does not disqualify that person, as a matter of law, from complicity in the offense of receiving the bribe; and 2) similarly, being the offeror or payor of a bribe does not disqualify that person, as a matter of law, from culpability for participating in a conspiracy to accept that same bribe.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/23/2013
• Published 12/23/2013

Judges

• BAXTER

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel