Supreme Court unanimously tosses out convictions in New Jersey 'Bridgegate' case

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 7 May 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday to throw out both convictions in New Jersey's infamous "Bridgegate" scandal.

Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni, two allies of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), were convicted of fraud and conspiracy for arranging in 2013 to reshape the traffic flow of the George Washington Bridge and create gridlock in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The Supreme Court decided there was "no doubt" of "wrongdoing" in the case, but that it didn't constitute "property fraud."

Evidence in the case "no doubt shows wrongdoing — deception, corruption, abuse of power," Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the unanimous opinion. But Kelly and Baroni "could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws" because they didn't "aim to obtain money or property," the opinion continued. "The federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct," the justices concluded in reversing a lower court's decision.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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