Opper v. United States

Petitioner seeks review of a conviction under charges that he violated 18 U. S. C. § 281, a section which punishes employees of the United States who receive outside compensation for any services to be rendered in any matter before a federal department or agency in which the United States is a party. Petitioner was not himself an employee but was charged with inducing a federal employee to accept compensation for such services through conspiring with him for that purpose. Such inducement violates 18 U. S. C. §§ 2 and 281. The sections are set out in the margin. 1

Count 1 of the indictment…