Salinas v. United States
United States Supreme Court
522 U.S. 52 (1997)

- Written by Sara Rhee, JD
Facts
The United States Marshals Service (Marshals Service) had an arrangement with Hidalgo County, Texas (the county), whereby the county agreed to take custody of federal prisoners in exchange for payments. Pursuant to this arrangement, the Marshals Service expected to pay the county about $915,785 per year. Brigido Marmolejo (defendant) was the county’s sheriff. Homero Beltran-Aguirre, a federal prisoner housed by the county, began bribing Marmolejo in order to have private visits with his wife or girlfriend twice per week. Beltran-Aguirre paid Marmolejo $6,000 per week and $1,000 per visit. When Marmolejo was unavailable, his deputy, Mario Salinas (defendant), arranged for the private visits. In return, Beltran-Aguirre gave Salinas two designer watches and a pickup truck. Salinas and Marmolejo were indicted for, among other crimes, two counts of bribery under the federal-program bribery statute, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B). Salinas was convicted on the bribery counts. The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed. Salinas requested certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Kennedy, J.)
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