Mississippi Advisory Opinions November 02, 1984: 19841102 (November 02, 1984)

Advisory Opinion Text

Honorable Danny L. Lowrey

County Prosecuting Attorney

P. O. Box 2345

Corinth, Mississippi 38834

Dear Mr. Lowrey:

Attorney General Edwin L. Pittman, has received your letter requesting an official opinion and has assigned it to me for research and reply.

Your request asks the following questions:

“Would Section 97-11-11 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, located in Sub Chapter 11 of Chapter 97 entitled “Offensives Involving Public Officials, ” be applicable to commercial bribery and whether a private individual could be convicted under the statute for bribing a non-public corporate official and be sentenced to the penalities provided in the statute?”

“Also, if Section 97-11-11 does apply to commercial bribery, would Section 97-11-11 disqualify a private individual convicted of violating Section 97-11-11 from forever holding public office?

The two statutes cited in your questions read as follows:

Section 97-11-11 . Bribery-offering property to trustee or his wife to influence his action.

Every person who shall promise, offer, or give to any officer, agent, or trustee, either public or private, while holding such office, agency, or trust, or after he has become a candidate or applicant for the same, or to the wife of such officer, agent, or trustee, any money, goods, chattels, right in action, or other property, real or personal, with intent to influence his vote, opinion, action, or judgment on any question, matter, cause, or proceeding which may be then pending, or may be thereafter subject to vote, opinion, action, or judgment of such officer, agent, or trustee, shall, on conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary not more than ten years, or fined not more than one thousand dollars, or both.

Section 97-11-13. Bribery-penalty when officer agent, trustee, or his wife accepts bribe.

If any officer, agent, or trustee shall accept any gift, offer, or promise, or if his wife, with his knowledge and consent, shall accept any gift, offer, or promise prohibited in the last section, he shall, on conviction, be forever disqualified from holding any public office, trust, or appointment, and shall forfeit his office, if any be held, and be imprisoned in the penitentiary not more than ten years, or be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.

The only case annotated under either of the cited statutes, McLemore v. State , 241 Miss. 664, 125 So.2d 86, 126 So.2d 236 (1960), cert. den. 368 U.S. 70, was a prosecution of the briber for an offer to bribe a public official, and, consequently, is not helpful in answering your questions.

In the absence of a court decision specifically on the subject, this office is of the opinion that the literal language of the statute answers your first question, that is, that § 97-11-11 proscribes bribery of a private, as well as a public officer, agent or trustee.

Section 97-11-13, which proscribes the acceptance of the bribe, does not specifically refer to either private or public officers, agents or trustees; however, it does state that the type of gift, offer or promise that is prohibited is the type “prohibited in the last section”, obviously meaning Section 97-11-11 . Applying the failiar statutory rule of construction the statutes in pari materia are to be considered together, Aikerson v. State , 274 So.2d 124 (Miss.1973), this office is of the opinion that a private officer, agent or trustee convicted under § 97-11-13 would be forever disqualified from holding any public office, trust or appointement.

In further consideration of the subject matter of your request, you should consult Section 97-9-10, Miss. Code Ann. 1972 (Cum. Supp.1984), entitled “Bribery; commercial bribery”, which proscribes the giving of a bribe to a private agent, employee or fiduciary as well as the acceptance of a bribe by such private person. Unlike §§ 97-11-11 and 97-11-13, a violation of § 97-9-10 is a misdemeanor.

Sincerely,

Edwin Lloyd Pittman, Attorney General