In a landmark decision that could impact numerous cases related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, the Supreme Court on Friday limited the application of a charge related to obstructing an official proceeding.
In a 6-3 ruling, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson joined the conservative majority, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett sided with the liberal dissenters. The Court determined that prosecutors must adhere more closely to the exact wording of the obstruction charge that has been commonly used in many January 6 prosecutions.
“The Government must establish that the defendant impaired the availability or integrity for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, objects, or as we earlier explained, other things used in the proceeding, or attempted to do so,” Chief Justice John Roberts stated in the majority opinion.
The case centered on an interpretation of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which specifies that anyone who “alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding; or otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so” can be held criminally liable.
This specific charge has been applied in over 300 cases related to the Capitol riot.
{CB Frommer – Matzav.com}
