McDonnell v. United States

579 U.S. 550 · U.S. Supreme Court

Holding and boundaries

Narrowed the federal bribery statute's definition of an 'official act' and vacated the conviction because the jury instructions were overbroad.

Scope and limitations: Does not approve corruption or gifts; other statutes, ethics rules and properly defined official acts remain.

Open authoritative source

2 issue placements

Anti-Corruption, Ethics & Public Integrity

McDonnell v. United States rejects, narrows, limits, or supplies adverse authority relevant to Anti-Corruption, Ethics & Public Integrity. Fit tier: Direct. The placement must be used only within the holding and limitations recorded here.

Scope and limitations: Does not approve corruption or gifts; other statutes, ethics rules and properly defined official acts remain.

Verification-state description: authoritative_text_identified; pinpoint_and_currentness_review_required

Corporate Public Affairs & Institutional Trust

McDonnell v. United States rejects, narrows, limits, or supplies adverse authority relevant to Corporate Public Affairs & Institutional Trust. Fit tier: Contextual. The placement must be used only within the holding and limitations recorded here.

Scope and limitations: Does not approve corruption or gifts; other statutes, ethics rules and properly defined official acts remain.

Verification-state description: authoritative_text_identified; pinpoint_and_currentness_review_required

Publication and provenance

The authority is published once; issue-specific orientation and fit remain separate placements. Analogue, contextual, and historical-adverse fits are not represented as controlling.

Published under research-publication-clearance-2026-07-21. deterministic validation and objective verification are not claimed.