Federal- Obstruction of Justice
Statute
18 USC 1503. Influencing or injuring officer or juror generally
- Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication, endeavors to influence, intimidate, or impede any grand or petit juror, or officer in or of any court of the United States, or officer who may be serving at any examination or other proceeding before any United States magistrate judge or other committing magistrate, in the discharge of his duty, or injures any such grand or petit juror in his person or property on account of any verdict or indictment assented to by him, or on account of his being or having been such juror, or injures any such officer, magistrate judge, or other committing magistrate in his person or property on account of the performance of his official duties, or corruptly or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication, influences, obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of justice, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). If the offense under this section occurs in connection with a trial of a criminal case, and the act in violation of this section involves the threat of physical force or physical force, the maximum term of imprisonment which may be imposed for the offense shall be the higher of that otherwise provided by law or the maximum term that could have been imposed for any offense charged in such case.
- The punishment for an offense under this section is -
- in the case of a killing, the punishment provided in sections 1111 and 1112;
- in the case of an attempted killing, or a case in which the offense was committed against a petit juror and
in which a class A or B felony was charged, imprisonment for not more than 20 years, a fine under this
title, or both; and
- in any other case, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, a fine under this title, or both.
Jury Instruction
The Defendant can be found guilty of that offense only if all of the following facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:
- That there was a proceeding pending before this Court, a United States Magistrate Judge of this Court, or a Grand Jury of this Court, as described in the indictment; and
- That the Defendant by threats or force or by threatening letter or communication knowingly and willfully endeavored to influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice in that judicial or grand jury proceeding as charged.
OR
- That the Defendant knowingly and corruptly endeavored to influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice in that judicial or grand jury proceeding as charged.
To “endeavor” means to strive or to attempt to accomplish a goal or a result; and to endeavor to “influence, obstruct or impede” the due administration of justice means to take some action for the purpose of swaying or changing, or preventing or thwarting in some way any of the actions likely to be taken in the judicial or grand jury proceeding involved.
To act “corruptly” means to act knowingly and dishonestly with the specific intent to influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice.
While it must be proved that the Defendant corruptly endeavored to influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice by threats or force or by a threatening letter or communication, as charged, and that the natural and probable effect of the Defendant’s acts would be to influence, obstruct or impede the due administration of justice, it is not necessary for the Government to prove that the judicial or grand jury proceeding was in fact influenced or obstructed or impeded in any way.
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