Kelly v. United States
Issues
Does a public official defraud the government of property interests by presenting a made-up public policy-based justification rather than the real reason for an official decision?
In 2010, two public officials, Bridget Anne Kelly and William E. Baroni, Jr., reallocated two toll lanes on the George Washington Bridge’s upper level to punish Fort Lee’s mayor for refusing to endorse then-New Jersey governor Chris Christie’s re-election campaign. Despite disguising this corrupt act as a traffic study, Kelly and Baroni were indicted for and convicted of wire fraud, defrauding a federally funded entity, and conspiracy to defraud. Petitioner Kelly and Respondent Baroni now argue that the Port Authority was never deprived of a legally-protected property right and that fraud cannot have occurred because the alleged victim received exactly what was bargained for, even though the public officials lied about their true intentions. Respondent United States contends that the Port Authority was deprived of a property right because Kelly and Baroni’s traffic-study lie encumbered the Port Authority’s exclusive free use of the George Washington Bridge and because neither Kelly nor Baroni had the authority to make such drastic changes. The outcome of this case has implications on future politics and whether political corruption should be prosecuted as a federal crime.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether a public official “defraud[s]” the government of its property by advancing a “public policy reason” for an official decision that is not her subjective “real reason” for making the decision.
The George Washington Bridge (“GWB”), operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (“Port Authority”), connects Fort Lee, New Jersey, and New York City. Kelly v. United States, at 5. The bridge’s upper level has twelve toll lanes that funnel traffic into Manhattan.
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Additional Resources
- Stephen A. Miller & Ryan I. Kelly, U.S. Supreme Court Considers When Politics Becomes a Crime, Law.com: The Legal Intelligence (Oct. 9, 2019).
- Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, The Supreme Court Considers Political Lies in the Bridgegate Case, Brennan Center for Justice (Oct. 28, 2019).