Katie Couric Instagram – 🚨The Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of a former police officer who is seeking to throw out an obstruction charge for joining the Captiol riot on January 6, 2021 — upending many cases against rioters who disrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
The justices in a 6-3 vote on nonideological lines handed a win to defendant Joseph Fischer, who is among hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants — including former President Donald Trump — who have been charged with obstructing an official proceeding over the effort to prevent Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory. Roberts was joined by other conservatives and one liberal — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson — in the majority. The other two liberal justices were joined by conservative Amy Coney Barrett in dissent.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said the government must establish that a defendant “impaired the availability or integrity” of records, documents or other objects used in an official proceeding. The court sent the case back to lower courts for further proceedings on whether the Justice Department could still prosecute Fischer under the new interpretation of the law.
Fischer faces seven criminal charges, only one of which was the focus of the Supreme Court case. Even if the obstruction charge is ultimately dismissed, the other charges, including assaulting a police officer and entering a restricted building, will remain in place.
The ruling may not affect Trump’s case. Prosecutors said that even if Fischer wins, Trump’s conduct would still be covered by a narrower interpretation of the statute.
In addition to this ruling, SCOTUS made the following decisions: ruled in favor of an Oregon city that ticketed homeless people for sleeping outside, rejecting arguments that such “anti-camping” ordinances violate the Constitution’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishment”; and undid decades of regulatory law— making it more difficult for federal agencies to issue rules and regulations that carry out broad mandates enacted by Congress. Chief Justice John Roberts said the Supreme Court will issue the final opinions of its terms on Monday. | Posted on 28/Jun/2024 20:51:24
