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51 Cal. W. L. Rev. 25 (2014-2015)
The Crucial Corrupt Intent Element in Federal Bribery Laws

handle is hein.journals/cwlr51 and id is 37 raw text is: THE CRUCIAL CORRUPT INTENT ELEMENT IN FEDERAL BRIBERY LAWS BRENNAN T. HUGHES* I was a first-grader the first time I got in trouble at school, and it may have been the event that set me on the path to becoming a lawyer. Our teacher evaporated from the classroom, leaving behind a worksheet to busy us students in her absence. I was studiously completing my worksheet when, suddenly, I found myself lying on the cold, orange-tiled classroom floor. Another boy, for reasons unknown, had risen from his seat and shoved me out of mine. Before I knew what was happening, the boy was on top of me-I was being attacked! I was struggling with the boy in an attempt to return to my assigned seat when our teacher returned; she was displeased. In the end, we both were disciplined for wrestling. My sense of fairness was deeply wounded that day. I admit, I was technically out of my seat. I admit, I was technically locked in a physical struggle with my seven-year-old assailant. But, being punished felt deeply unfair-I was a victim! I lacked any intent to do wrong. Although my actus reus apparently violated school policy, my mens rea was pure as snow. This mildly harrowing tale of my youth illustrates the momentousness of the mens rea element of any crime. When courts give short shrift to criminal intent, guiltless actors can be swept into the criminal justice system. As the United States Supreme Court has * Brennan Thomas Hughes, B.A., M.A. (Freed-Hardeman University), M.Div. (Lipscomb University Hazelip School of Theology), J.D. (Vanderbilt University Law School), judicial clerk for the United States Court of Appeals. The author is grateful for the tutelage given by Professors Bob Cooper and Robert Mikos in election law and federal criminal law. This article is dedicated to the author's three sons Dexter, Eliot, and Chet, who may sometimes be manipulated with bribes.