The Jersey Lawyer

Today, the New Jersey Supreme Court, in In re Election Law Enforcement Commission Advisory Opinion No. 01-2008, held that public officials cannot use campaign funds to cover the costs of a defense to a federal criminal indictment because payments in defense of federal criminal corruption charges are not “ordinary and necessary expenses of holding public office.”  Although New Jersey’s Campaign Contribution Act allows the use of campaign funds for “legal fees and expenses” under some circumstances, the Supreme Court held that those circumstances do not include defending against corruption charges.  Anyone charged with public corruption or any other crime in New Jersey should contact a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer for representation.

Former State Senator Wayne Bryant served in the New Jersey Senate from 1995 until 2008.  In preparation for the 2007 election season, Senator Bryant had designated “Friends of Senator Wayne R. Bryant” as his committee fund for the primary elections.  Although Senator Bryant did not run for re-election in 2007, his campaign fund still retained over $600,000 in campaign deposits.  In March of 2007, Senator Bryant was indicted on federal corruption charges, including engaging in a scheme to deprive the State of New Jersey and its residents of his honest services; soliciting and accepting a corrupt thing of value; and engaging in a scheme to defraud state agencies of money and property.  A federal jury found Senator Bryant guilty on 12 out of the 13 counts in the indictment.  Bryant’s campaign fund sought an advisory opinion on whether Senator Bryant could use the money in his campaign fund to pay some of his legal expenses incurred in defending against the corruption charges.

In affirming the Election Law Enforcement Commission’s determination that campaign funds cannot be used to pay legal expenses incurred in defending against a federal corruption indictment, the Supreme Court first examined the language of the Campaign Contribution Act.  The Act provides that campaign funds can be used for certain purposes.  The only purpose relevant to this case was that campaign funds can be used for “payment of ordinary and necessary expenses of holding public office.” 

The issue before the Court then was whether defraying legal expenses incurred in defending against federal corruption charges was an “ordinary and necessary expense of holding public office.”  The Court noted: “[d]espite blaring headlines that announce the most recent prosecution and conviction of a public official, we have yet to reach the point when it can be said that defending against a federal or state criminal indictment alleging corrupt practices is an ‘ordinary’ expense of holding public office.”  The Court also noted that the whole purpose behind the Act is to increase the electorate’s confidence in the election process, and allowing public officials to use campaign funds for defense against corruption charges would not further that purpose.

Anyone charged with a criminal offense in New Jersey should contact a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer for representation.  White collar crimes such as public corruption carry very serious consequences, including enhanced penalties.  Therefore the assistance of a New Jersey white collar criminal defense lawyer is indispensible in these cases.