Jump to content

Obstruction of justice in the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromObstruction of justice)

Criminal law
Elements
Scope of criminalliability
Severity of offense
Inchoate offenses
Offense against the person
Sexual offenses
Crimes against property
Crimes against justice
Crimes against the public
Crimes against animals
Crimes against the state
Defenses to liability
Other common-law areas
Portals

In United Statesjurisdictions,obstruction of justicerefers to a number of offenses that involve unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks ofprosecutors,investigators, or other government officials.Common lawjurisdictions other than the United States tend to use the wider offense ofperverting the course of justice.

Obstruction is a broad crime that may include acts such asperjury,making false statementsto officials,witness tampering,jury tampering,destruction of evidence,and many others. Obstruction also applies to overt coercion of court or government officials via the means of threats or actual physical harm, and also applying to deliberateseditionagainst a court official to undermine the appearance of legitimate authority.[citation needed]

Legal overview[edit]

Obstruction of justice is an umbrella term covering a variety of specific crimes.[1]Black's Law Dictionarydefines it as any "interference with the orderly administration of law and justice".[2]Obstruction has been categorized by various sources as aprocess crime,[3]apublic-order crime,[4][5]or awhite-collar crime.[6]

Obstruction can include crimes committed byjudges,prosecutors,attorneys general,and elected officials in general.

Federal law[edit]

In federal law, crimes constituting obstruction of justice are defined primarily in Chapter 73 ofTitle 18 of the United States Code.[7][8]This chapter contains provisions covering various specific crimes such aswitness tamperingand retaliation,jury tampering,destruction of evidence,assault on aprocess server,and theft of court records.[9]It also includes more general sections covering obstruction of proceedings infederal courts,Congress,[10]andfederal executive agencies.[9]One of the broadest provisions in the chapter, known as theOmnibus Clause,states that anyone who "corruptly... endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of justice" in connection with a pending court proceeding is subject to punishment.[11]

Statistics regarding the frequency of obstruction of justice prosecutions are unclear.[12]In 2004, federal agencies arrested 446 people for obstruction, representing 0.3 percent of all federal arrests.[13]This does not include, however, people who were charged with obstruction in addition to a more serious underlying crime.[12]

Sentencing enhancement[edit]

Under theFederal Sentencing Guidelines,a defendant convicted of any crime is subject to a more severe sentence if they are found to have obstructed justice by impeding the investigation or prosecution of their crimes.[14][15]While a separate conviction for the crime of obstruction would require proofbeyond a reasonable doubt,a finding of obstruction for sentencing purposes only needs to meet the looser standard of "a preponderance of the evidence"(unless the enhanced sentence would exceed the statutory maximum sentence for the underlying crime).[16]

An obstruction finding adds two levels to the offender's sentence, which can result in as much as an additional 68 months of prison.[17]In 2017, the obstruction enhancement was applied in 1,319 cases, representing 2.1 percent of all sentences issued in federal courts.[18]

State law[edit]

State laws regarding obstruction of justice vary widely. A 2004 survey found that 24 states and the District of Columbia had a general statute criminalizing obstruction of justice or obstruction of government functions in broad terms, similar to those found in federal law.[9]All states have laws prohibiting some specific types of obstruction, such as witness tampering, jury tampering, or destruction of evidence.[9]

History[edit]

From the creation of the federal courts by theJudiciary Act of 1789,judges had the power to summarily punish those who obstructed justice by holding them incontempt of court.[19][20]

A scandal in 1830 led to reform of the contempt law and the creation of obstruction of justice as a separate offense. Federal judgeJames H. Peckimprisoned a lawyer for contempt for publishing a letter criticizing one of Peck's opinions. In an effort to prevent such abuses, Congress passed a law in 1831 limiting the application of the summary contempt procedures to offenses committed in or near the court. A new section, which survives today as the Omnibus Clause, was added to punish contempts committed outside of the court, but only afterindictmentandtrial by jury.[19][20]

In 1982, in response to concerns that the obstruction law did not provide adequate protection to crime victims and other witnesses, Congress broadened the law against witness tampering and criminalized retaliation against witnesses, as part of the Victim and Witness Protection Act.[21]

TheSarbanes–Oxley Actof 2002 strengthened the obstruction laws regarding destruction of evidence before an investigation or proceeding has begun, in response to accounting firmArthur Andersen's widely reported shredding of documents related to theEnron scandal.[22]

Notable examples[edit]

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^Posner, Richard A. (2009).An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton.Harvard University Press. p. 37.ISBN9780674042322.
  2. ^Doyle, Charles (April 17, 2014).Obstruction of Justice: An Overview of Some of the Federal Statutes That Prohibit Interference with Judicial, Executive, or Legislative Activities(Report). Congressional Research Service. p. 1.RetrievedJune 17,2019.
  3. ^Murphy, Erin."The Crime Factory: Process, Pretext, and Criminal Justice"(PDF).Georgetown Law Journal.97:1437.RetrievedJune 19,2019.
  4. ^Burfeind, James; Bartusch, Dawn Jeglum (2011).Juvenile Delinquency: An Integrated Approach.Jones & Bartlett. p. 62.ISBN9781449654337.
  5. ^"All Terms & Definitions".Bureau of Justice Statistics.RetrievedJune 19,2019.
  6. ^Baer, Miriam H."Sorting Out White-Collar Crime"(PDF).Texas Law Review.97(2): 227.RetrievedJune 19,2019.
  7. ^Riley, Tina M. (January 1, 1999)."Tampering with Witness Tampering: Resolving the Quandary Surrounding 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1512".Washington University Law Review.77(1): 249–275.
  8. ^18 U.S.C.ch. 73
  9. ^abcdDecker, John (November 1, 2004)."The Varying Parameters of Obstruction of Justice in American Criminal Law".Louisiana Law Review.65(1).
  10. ^"United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Michael B. Mitchell; Clarence M. Mitchell, Iii, defendants-appellants, 877 F.2d 294 (4th Cir. 1989)".In sum, we affirm appellants' convictions of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1505 because the evidence at trial supported the jury's verdict that they corruptly endeavored to influence a House investigation
  11. ^Hsen, Mark; Evert, Nicholas; Susca, Rien; Wendzel, Bailey (2018). "Obstruction of Justice".American Criminal Law Review.55(3): 1499–1501.
  12. ^abHill, Dana (January 1, 2004)."Anticipatory Obstruction of Justice: Pre-Emptive Document Destruction under the Sarbanes-Oxley Anti-Shredding Statute, 18 U.S.C. 1519".Cornell Law Review.89(6): 1519.
  13. ^Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 2004(PDF)(Report). Bureau of Justice Statistics. December 2006. p. 17.RetrievedJune 20,2019.
  14. ^Guidelines Manual(PDF).United States Sentencing Commission. 2018. pp. 359–361.RetrievedJune 14,2019.
  15. ^Flumenbaum, Martin; Karp, Brad S. (May 30, 2014)."Perjured Statements as a Basis for Sentencing Enhancement".New York Law Review.251(103).
  16. ^Foster, Michael A. (August 24, 2018).Judicial Fact-Finding and Criminal Sentencing: Current Practice and Potential Change(Report). Congressional Research Service.RetrievedJune 14,2019.
  17. ^Doyle, Charles (April 17, 2014).Obstruction of Justice: An Overview of Some of the Federal Statutes That Prohibit Interference with Judicial, Executive, or Legislative Activities(Report). Congressional Research Service. p. 79.RetrievedJune 17,2019.
  18. ^Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics(PDF)(Report). U. S. Sentencing Commission. 2017. Table 18.RetrievedJune 20,2019.
  19. ^ab"Criminal Venue in the Federal Courts: The Obstruction of Justice Puzzle".Michigan Law Review.82(1): 98–99. 1983.doi:10.2307/1288587.JSTOR1288587.
  20. ^abFitzpatrick, James (January 1, 1996)."The Supreme Court's Bipolar Approach to the Interpretation of 18 U.S.C. 1503 and 18 U.S.C. 2232(c)".Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.86(4): 1383.doi:10.2307/1144062.JSTOR1144062.
  21. ^Riley, Tina M. (January 1, 1999)."Tampering with Witness Tampering: Resolving the Quandary Surrounding 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1512".Washington University Law Review.77(1): 249–275.
  22. ^Hill, Dana (January 1, 2004)."Anticipatory Obstruction of Justice: Pre-Emptive Document Destruction under the Sarbanes-Oxley Anti-Shredding Statute, 18 U.S.C. 1519".Cornell Law Review.89(6): 1519.
  23. ^Lyons, Richard; Chapman, William (July 28, 1974)."Judiciary Committee approves article to impeach President Nixon, 27 to 11".Washington Post.RetrievedJune 13,2019.
  24. ^"For the purpose of deceiving the people".Wall Street Journal.November 13, 1998.RetrievedJune 13,2019.
  25. ^Holson, Laura M. (September 8, 2018)."'No One Could Believe It': When Ford Pardoned Nixon Four Decades Ago ".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedJune 11,2019.
  26. ^Johnston, David (December 24, 1992)."Bush pardons 6 in Iran affair, aborting a Weinberger trial; prosecutor assails 'cover-up'".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 13,2019.
  27. ^Marcus, Ruth (December 20, 1998)."Explanation of Article III".Washington Post.RetrievedJune 13,2019.
  28. ^Weil, Jonathan; Barrionuevo, Alexei (June 16, 2002)."Arthur Andersen is convicted on obstruction-of-justice count".Wall Street Journal.RetrievedJune 18,2019.
  29. ^Mears, Bill (May 31, 2005)."Arthur Andersen conviction overturned".CNN.RetrievedJune 18,2019.
  30. ^Seigel, Michael; Slobogin, Christopher (2005)."Prosecuting Martha: Federal Prosecutorial Power and the Need for a Law of Counts".Penn State Law Review.109(4): 1107–1131.ISSN1545-7877.
  31. ^Darani, Shaheen (January 1, 2006)."Behavior of the Defendant in a Competency-to-Stand-Trial Evaluation Becomes an Issue in Sentencing".Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online.34(1): 126–128.
  32. ^"Highlights from Libby indictment".CNN.October 28, 2005.RetrievedJune 13,2019.
  33. ^Lewis, Neil A. (March 7, 2007)."Libby guilty of lying in C.I.A. leak case".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 13,2019.
  34. ^Baker, Peter (April 13, 2018)."Trump Pardons Scooter Libby in a Case That Mirrors His Own".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedJune 11,2019.
  35. ^Miller, Judith (April 14, 2018)."Belated justice for Scooter Libby".RetrievedJune 13,2019.
  36. ^Siklos, Richard (July 14, 2007)."Conrad Black Found Guilty in Fraud Trial".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedAugust 31,2016.
  37. ^"Trump pardons billionaire friend Conrad Black, who wrote a book about him".The Washington Post.May 15, 2019.RetrievedJune 11,2019.
  38. ^"Barry Bonds convicted of obstruction of justice in performance-enhancing-drugs case".Los Angeles Times.April 13, 2011.RetrievedMay 22,2018.
  39. ^Egelko, Bob (April 23, 2015)."Appeals court overturns Barry Bonds' obstruction conviction".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedJune 13,2019.
  40. ^Sherman, Mark (April 18, 2019)."The 10 instances of possible obstruction in Mueller report".Associated Press.RetrievedJune 18,2019.
  41. ^Schmidt, Michael S.; Savage, Charlie (April 18, 2019)."Mueller Rejects View That Presidents Can't Obstruct Justice".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedJune 3,2019.
  42. ^"House Judiciary Committee Unveils Investigation into Threats Against the Rule of Law".Committee on the Judiciary - Democrats.March 4, 2019.RetrievedJune 16,2019.
  43. ^"Feds arrest Spring Hill woman for alleged role in 1/6 Capitol attack".WFTS.June 3, 2021.RetrievedJune 13,2021.
  44. ^Treisman, Rachel (February 25, 2021)."A Man Called His Ex A 'Moron' By Text While Storming The Capitol. She Turned Him In".NPR.org.RetrievedJune 13,2021.
  45. ^"Trevor Jacob admits to intentional crash for clicks".www.aopa.org.December 5, 2023.RetrievedDecember 6,2023.

Further reading[edit]

  • Ohlin. "Obstruction of Justice". Criminal Law: Doctrine, Application, and Practice. Aspen Casebook Series. Third Edition.Page 462et seq.
  • Ellen S Podgor, "Obstruction of Justice: Redesigning the Shortcut" (2020-2021) 46 Brigham Young University Law Review657
  • Joseph V De Marco, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Courthouse: Mens Rea, Document Destruction, and the Federal Obstruction of Justice Statute" (1992) 67 New York University Law Review570
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Obstruction_of_justice_in_the_United_States&oldid=1233069689"