Page 28 - TPA Journal November December 2023

Joe C. Tooley, Legal Digest Editor
Joe C. Tooley, Attorneys & Counselors, Rockwall, Texas
www.TooleyLaw.com 972-722-1058

TEXAS POLICE ASSOCIATION

LEGAL DIGEST

November - December 2023

AUTHOR’S NOTE: It is the goal of this submission to extract those portions of relevant appellate
opinions or the syllabus of the legal reporter which bear directly upon law enforcement methods
and provide guidance for officers on an operational level. Much of the information pertaining to
these cases is lifted verbatim from the court opinion or syllabus with independent analysis inserted
as appropriate. Due to clarity for training purposes, the distinction between quotes from the
opinions and inserted analysis is not always identified and legal citations within the opinion are
often omitted. Emphasis is placed upon reported decisions from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

ELEMENTS 2015, Hamilton gave money to a non-profit called
“Hip Hop Government” (HHG), which focused on
Bribery combining “hiphop culture with Government.”
That non-profit was owned and operated by
Ruel Hamilton gave money to members of
Davis’s close friend (and campaign manager),
the Dallas City Council. He received nothing tan-
Jeremy Scroggins. Some of those donations were
gible in return. He was later indicted under 18
used for HHG’s legitimate purposes; others were
U.S.C. § 666 for two counts of “bribery concern- purportedly given to HHG, cashed by Scroggins,
ing a local government receiving federal benefits,” then given to Davis personally. Hamilton also
plus a conspiracy count under § 371. The question
teamed up with Davis to support other citycouncil
here is whether federal-programs bribery under §
candidates in the 2015 election cycle: He gave
666 requires a quid pro quo. We conclude that it
money to her preferred candidates and gave her
does. We thus VACATE Hamilton’s convictions cash to help pay for those candidates’ workers.
and REMAND for proceedings consistent with Right around that 2015 election cycle, Hamilton
this opinion.
was trying to secure some low-income-housing
Hamilton is a real-estate developer in tax credits for one of his real-estate ventures, the
Dallas who is known for his involvement in local Royal Crest project. These tax credits were offered
politics. One local politician he supported was not by the City of Dallas, but by the Texas
Carolyn Davis, who was a member of the Dallas Department of Housing and Community affairs (a
City Council. Among the councilmembers, she state agency). The City Council would eventually
served as the Chair of the Dallas Housing vote to “recommend” a slate of projects to the
Committee. Several times between 2013 and state agency for these tax credits. Davis, for her
part, lobbied to have the Royal Crest project

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