Federal law criminalizes the receipt of bribes, as well as the receipt of gratuities, by federal public officials. See 18 U.S.C. Sections 201(b)-(c). For years, however, federal courts were divided on whether the analogue statute for state and local officials, 18 U.S.C. Section 666, prohibited gratuities. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that issue in Snyder v. United States, holding that Section 666 only criminalizes bribes, and not the acceptance of gratuities, by state and local officials. This decision further narrows the power of federal prosecutors to pursue corruption cases. But the Supreme Court's ruling also re-emphasizes the court's concern over federal criminal laws interfering with traditional areas of state governance.