R Lang & Associates
Bribery, in law, the illegal influencing of any person in the exercise of a public duty through the payment of money or anything of value. In the code set down by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, bribery was a punishable offense. By modern common law and statute, the tenderer and the solicitor of bribes are equally culpable. In the United States bribery and attempted bribery are defined by the federal government and by most of the states as felonies, punishable in many states by imprisonment. Many states also forbid the bribery of labor union agents, business representatives, athletes, jury witnesses, and voters.
Felony n. 1) a crime sufficiently serious to be punishable by death or a term in state or federal prison, as distinguished from a misdemeanor which is only punishable by confinement to county or local jail and/or a fine. 2) a crime carrying a minimum term of one year or more in state prison, since a year or less can be served in county jail. However, a sentence upon conviction for a felony may sometimes be less than one year at the discretion of the judge and within limits set by statute.