former virginia first lady maureen mcdonnell 's attorneys argued that her public corruption conviction should be overturned because it was based on an overly broad definition of bribery .
mcdonnell and her husband , former gov. bob mcdonnell , were convicted in a joint trial in september of accepting more than $ 165,000 in gifts and loans from former star scientific inc. .
ceo jonnie williams in exchange for promoting his company 's nutritional supplements .