2023 fact pattern is a public corruption case in the vein of Greylord:
In March of 2022, the FBI began “Operation Bluelady,” an ambitious investigation into allegations of corruption in the judicial system in the City of Wind. Operation Bluelady led to charges against numerous attorneys and judges in Wind. Among the first people caught up in the investigation was Blake Peters, a local attorney. Peters admitted to extensive involvement in bribery schemes related to traffic cases and agreed to cooperate with the FBI to collect evidence against others in an attempt to obtain a reduced sentence for his own crimes. Peters made successful cases against several attorneys. This case is the result of Peters’s attempts to collect evidence that Judge Mary Samuels was taking bribes. The FBI created a fictitious case and placed it on Judge Samuels’s docket. Peters then wore a wire and recorded conversations in which he attempted to bribe Judge Samuels. He then delivered an envelope including money for the bribe to Judge Samuels’s clerk, Trevor Flowers. Judge Samuels ultimately decided the case in Peters’s favor. Judge Samuels denies that any bribe took place and contends that she at most violated some ethical rules regarding ex parte communication with litigants.