Heck yeah it could be bribery. It’s not even a “technical” violation. You’re paying money to influence a public official’s decision. So what if you’re not paying it directly to the judge? You’re paying it at his order, same as if you bought him a yacht.
–Cliffy
Just to underscore Otto’s point, pay close attention here:
(2) A public official…directly or** indirectly** solicits, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive **a thing of value **by inducing the reasonable belief that the giving of the thing will influence his or her performance or failure to perform any official action.
Look it’s all well and good here, but I never considered bribing the judge in any way shape or form… I d-o happen to see it as bribery and I would never ask a chamber person to tell me the judge’s favorite charity in the first place… so that’s a “no-go” on that one…
Ask legal counsel. “No contest” may be an unrefusable plea.