Bribe receiving by a witness · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 215.05 Bribe receiving by a witness.
A witness or a person about to be called as a witness in any action or proceeding is guilty of bribe receiving by a witness when he solicits, accepts or agrees to accept any benefit from another person upon an agreement or understanding that (a) his testimony will thereby be influenced, or (b) he will absent himself from, or otherwise avoid or seek to avoid appearing or testifying at, such action or proceeding.
Bribe receiving by a witness is a class D felony.
A witness or prospective witness commits bribe receiving by asking for, accepting, or agreeing to accept any benefit on the understanding that the benefit will influence the testimony or that the witness will stay away from or avoid appearing or testifying in the action or proceeding. ★ The offense is a class D felony.
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.