Bribery; defense · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 200.05 Bribery; defense.
In any prosecution for bribery, it is a defense that the defendant conferred or agreed to confer the benefit involved upon the public servant involved as a result of conduct of the latter constituting larceny committed by means of extortion, or an attempt to commit the same, or coercion, or an attempt to commit coercion.
In a bribery prosecution, it is a defense that the defendant gave or agreed to give the benefit because the public servant’s conduct amounted to extortionate larceny or attempted extortionate larceny, coercion, or attempted coercion. ★
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.