United States of America, Appellee v. Russell Hoffmann, Appellant Case Study

United States of America, Appellee v. Russell Hoffmann, Appellant - Case Study Example  § 201(c) (1) (A). Hoffman, however, argues that he gave Schwening a gift as a friend and not for official reasons. Issue: The court of appeal was to determine whether Russell D. Hoffmann (Appellant) contravened 18 U.S.C.  § 201(c) (1) (A) by giving a gratuity to Schwening, as earlier affirmed by a state court. Russell D. Hoffmann argued otherwise. 18 U.S. Code  § 201 Applies to bribery of public officials and witnesses. 18 U.S.C.  § 201(c)(1)(A) defines the term â€Å"official act† as any action or decision regarding any question or cause that, at any time according to the law, may be presented to a public official in an official capacity in the official’s trust (LII, 2015). In determining the law, the government must ascertain the relationship between a thing of valued presented to a public official and the specific â€Å"public act† for or the reason to which it was offered. Reason: Based on the evidence presented by USA, it was sufficient that both parties were on official duty as stipulated under 18 U.S.C.  § 201(c) (1) (A). This is illegal as it creates a conflict of interest between the two