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The Supreme Court has overturned the corruption convictions of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

The justices ruled that prosecutors defined too broadly the kind of conduct that qualifies as an "official act" public officials are not permitted to trade for gifts or campaign donations.

A jury convicted the Virginia Republican on 11 corruption-related felony counts in 2014, including "honest services" fraud, extortion and conspiracy.

Evidence showed McDonnell and his wife accepted over $175,000-worth of loans and gifts, such as vacations, designer clothes and a Rolex watch, from a businessman seeking the state's help in promoting a tobacco-based dietary supplement.

McDonnell was sentenced to two years in prison, but never began serving the time after the Supreme Court put his sentence on hold last year.

A broad array of Democratic and Republican ex-officials and attorneys warned the Supreme Court that upholding McDonnell's conviction would leave officeholders open to potential prosecution over the kinds of benefits routinely given to donors, such as invitations to meetings and social events.

The unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February was widely viewed as complicating the effort to build the majority needed to overturn McDonnell's convictions.

Scalia was one of several of the court's Republican appointees who have long been skeptical about such prosecutions. However, at oral arguments in April, liberal Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan surprised some observers by also voicing doubts about the way the case against McDonnell was framed.

As a result of the new ruling, McDonnell's sentence has been vacated and the case will be returned to the district court. Among the possibilities are a new trial or a plea bargain similar to one McDonnell reportedly turned down early on in the case. It's also possible prosecutors could drop the case altogether.

McDonnell's wife, Maureen, was also charged and convicted at the same 2014 trial, where her husband's defense claimed she was infatuated with the businessman providing the gifts to the family. She was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, but has remained free pending appeal.

Her case was not before the Supreme Court, but her convictions are expected to be overturned as a result of the ruling in favor of her husband.

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