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La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1 (2026)

Obstruction of justice

✓ current as of May 2026
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§130.1. Obstruction of justice

           A. The crime of obstruction of justice is any of the following acts when committed with the knowledge that the act has, reasonably may, or will affect an actual or potential present, past, or future criminal proceeding , civil immigration proceeding, or official act of an agent or employee of a governmental entity:

           (1) Tampering with evidence with the specific intent of distorting the results of any criminal investigation or proceeding which may reasonably prove relevant to a criminal investigation or proceeding. Tampering with evidence shall include the intentional alteration, movement, removal, or addition of any object or substance either:

           (a) At the location of any incident which the perpetrator knows or has good reason to believe will be the subject of any investigation by state, local, or United States law enforcement officers; or

           (b) At the location of storage, transfer, or place of review of any such evidence.

           (2) Using or threatening force toward the person or property of another with the specific intent to:

           (a) Influence the testimony of any person in any criminal proceeding;

           (b) Cause or induce the withholding of testimony or withholding of records, documents, or other objects from any criminal proceeding;

           (c) Cause or induce the alteration, destruction, mutilation, or concealment of any object with the specific intent to impair the object's integrity or availability for use in any criminal proceeding;

           (d) Evade legal process or the summoning of a person to appear as a witness or to produce a record, document, or other object in any criminal proceeding;

           (e) Cause the hindrance, delay, or prevention of the communication to a peace officer, as defined in R.S. 14:30, of information relating to an arrest or potential arrest or relating to the commission or possible commission of a crime or parole or probation violation.

           (3) Retaliating against any witness, victim, juror, judge, party, attorney, or informant by knowingly engaging in any conduct which results in bodily injury to or damage to the property of any such person or the communication of threats to do so with the specific intent to retaliate against any person for:

           (a) The attendance as a witness, juror, judge, attorney, or a party to any criminal proceeding or for producing evidence or testimony for use or potential use in any criminal proceeding, or

           (b) The giving of information, evidence, or any aid relating to the commission or possible commission of a parole or probation violation or any crime under the laws of any state or of the United States.

           (4) Inducing or persuading or attempting to induce or persuade any person to do any of the following:

           (a) Testify falsely or, without right or privilege to do so, to withhold any testimony.

           (b) Without the right or privilege to do so, absent himself from such proceedings despite having received service of a subpoena.

           (5) Contacting a family member of the victim in a manner that knowingly and intentionally violates the provisions of R.S. 46:1844(Y).

           (6) Knowingly committing any act intended to hinder, delay, prevent, or otherwise interfere with or thwart federal immigration enforcement efforts.

           B. Whoever commits the crime of obstruction of justice shall be subject to the following penalties:

           (1) When the obstruction of justice involves a criminal proceeding in which a sentence of death or life imprisonment may be imposed, except as provided in Paragraph (5) of this Subsection, the offender shall be fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars, imprisoned for not more than forty years at hard labor, or both.

           (2) When the obstruction of justice involves a criminal proceeding in which a sentence of imprisonment necessarily at hard labor for any period less than a life sentence may be imposed, the offender may be fined not more than fifty thousand dollars, or imprisoned for not more than twenty years at hard labor, or both.

           (3) When the obstruction of justice involves any other criminal proceeding, except as provided in Paragraph (4) or (5) of this Subsection, the offender shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, imprisoned for not more than five years, with or without hard labor, or both.

           (4) When the obstruction of justice is committed as described in Paragraph (A)(1) of this Section and involves any misdemeanor criminal proceeding that does not involve an intentional misdemeanor directly affecting the person, the offender shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

           (5) When the obstruction of justice is committed as described in Paragraph (A)(5) of this Section and involves a criminal proceeding in which the sentence imposed is a sentence of death, the offender shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, imprisoned for not more than three years, with or without hard labor, or both.

           (6) When the obstruction of justice involves a civil immigration proceeding, the offender shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than one year, or both.

           (7) When the obstruction of justice involves an official act of an agent or employee of a governmental entity, the offender shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

           C. For the purposes of this Section, "family member" shall have the same meaning and definition as in R.S. 46:2132.

           Acts 1984, No. 561, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1985; Acts 2016, No. 215, §1, eff. August 1, 2016; Acts 2021, No. 212, §1, eff. August 1, 2021; Acts 2024, No. 157, §1, eff. August 1, 2024; Acts 2025, No. 399, §1, eff. August 1, 2025.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 266 cases (95 in the last 5 years), 1986–2026 · leading case: State v. Jones, 983 So. 2d 95 (La. 2008).
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State v. Jones, 983 So. 2d 95 (La. 2008). · cites it 14× “R.S. 14:130.1, and provides in pertinent part: *98 A.”
State v. Roberson, 929 So. 2d 789 (La. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 4× “R.S. 14:130.1. Roberson was sentenced to serve life imprisonment at hard labor without benefits for the second degree murder conviction and the maximum sentence of 40 years at hard labor to be served consecutively for the obstruction of justice conviction.”
State v. Powell, 179 So. 3d 721 (La. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 6× “R.S. 14:130.1. Defendant pled not guilty at his arraignment, and subsequently filed a motion to suppress and a motion for preliminary hearing.”
State v. Tatum, 40 So. 3d 1082 (La. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 6× “R.S. 14:130.1. Denzel Fields (“Fields”) was charged as a co-defendant as to Count 2 only.”
State v. Nicholas, 67 So. 3d 610 (La. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 8× “R.S. 14:130.1 (Count I) and second degree battery (Count II).”
State v. Thompson, 259 So. 3d 1257 (La. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 3× “R.S. 14:130.1 (count four). Defendant pleaded not guilty to the charged offenses at his arraignment on August 5, 2016.”
State v. Hoang, 207 So. 3d 473 (La. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 4× “R.S. 14:130.1, obstruction of justice, which provides, in pertinent part: A.”
State v. Majors, 318 S.W.3d 850 (Tenn. 2010). “2d at 1336 (quoting La.Rev. Stat. Ann. § 14:130.1). 11 . The dissenting opinion below, in reasoning that the evidence was insufficient to sustain an evidence tampering conviction, maintained that the State could not have obtained a conviction for simple possession of cocaine…”
State v. Ayala, 243 So. 3d 681 (La. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 6× “R.S. 14:130.1. On April 27, 2017, Defendant pled guilty to the lesser offense of manslaughter and to obstruction of justice, along with the offense of aggravated escape, an offense charged under a separate docket number and which is also subject to an appeal of the sentence…”
State v. Carter, 981 So. 2d 734 (La. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 3× “R.S. 14:130.1; and count IV — obstruction of justice, in violation of La.”
State v. Dooley, 882 So. 2d 731 (La. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 2× “R.S. 14:130.1 and subsequently sentenced to serve 40 years at hard labor, to run consecutive to the life sentence.”
State v. Johnson., 21 So. 3d 1159 (La. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 6× “R.S. 14:130.1. The defendant entered a plea of not guilty, and the matter proceeded to a trial by jury.”
Show all 266 citing cases →
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(A): 22 cases
State v. Jones, 983 So. 2d 95 (La. 2008). “R.S. 14:130.1, and provides in pertinent part: *98 A.”
State of Louisiana v. Channing R. Gray, 218 So. 3d 40 (La. 2017).
State v. Powell, 179 So. 3d 721 (La. Ct. App. 2015). “R.S. 14:130.1. Defendant pled not guilty at his arraignment, and subsequently filed a motion to suppress and a motion for preliminary hearing.”
State v. Tatum, 40 So. 3d 1082 (La. Ct. App. 2010). “R.S. 14:130.1. Denzel Fields (“Fields”) was charged as a co-defendant as to Count 2 only.”
State v. Roberson, 929 So. 2d 789 (La. Ct. App. 2006). “R.S. 14:130.1. Roberson was sentenced to serve life imprisonment at hard labor without benefits for the second degree murder conviction and the maximum sentence of 40 years at hard labor to be served consecutively for the obstruction of justice conviction.”
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(A)(1): 44 cases
State v. Jones, 983 So. 2d 95 (La. 2008). “R.S. 14:130.1, and provides in pertinent part: *98 A.”
State v. Hoang, 207 So. 3d 473 (La. Ct. App. 2016). “R.S. 14:130.1, obstruction of justice, which provides, in pertinent part: A.”
State v. Powell, 179 So. 3d 721 (La. Ct. App. 2015). “R.S. 14:130.1. Defendant pled not guilty at his arraignment, and subsequently filed a motion to suppress and a motion for preliminary hearing.”
State v. Tatum, 40 So. 3d 1082 (La. Ct. App. 2010). “R.S. 14:130.1. Denzel Fields (“Fields”) was charged as a co-defendant as to Count 2 only.”
State v. Martin, 582 So. 2d 306 (La. Ct. App. 1991).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(A)(1)(a): 14 cases
State v. Jones, 983 So. 2d 95 (La. 2008). “R.S. 14:130.1, and provides in pertinent part: *98 A.”
State v. McKnight, 739 So. 2d 343 (La. Ct. App. 1999).
State v. Beckley, 273 So. 3d 503 (La. Ct. App. 2019).
State v. Ward, 238 So. 3d 1054 (La. Ct. App. 2018).
State v. Beckley, 273 So. 3d 503 (La. Ct. App. 2019).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(A)(2): 5 cases
State v. Jones, 983 So. 2d 95 (La. 2008). “R.S. 14:130.1, and provides in pertinent part: *98 A.”
State v. Griffin, 169 So. 3d 473 (La. Ct. App. 2015).
State v. McClure, 169 So. 3d 510 (La. Ct. App. 2015).
State v. Harris, 190 So. 3d 466 (La. Ct. App. 2016).
State v. Thacker, 130 So. 3d 1037 (La. Ct. App. 2014).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(A)(2)(b): 1 case
State v. Dauzat, 532 So. 2d 275 (La. Ct. App. 1988).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(A)(2)(e): 1 case
State of Louisiana v. Christopher L. Jones (La. Ct. App. 2025).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(A)(3): 2 cases
State v. Nicholas, 67 So. 3d 610 (La. Ct. App. 2011). “R.S. 14:130.1 (Count I) and second degree battery (Count II).”
State v. Dauzat, 532 So. 2d 275 (La. Ct. App. 1988).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(A)(3)(b): 1 case
State v. Dauzat, 532 So. 2d 275 (La. Ct. App. 1988).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(A)(S): 1 case
State v. Nicholas, 67 So. 3d 610 (La. Ct. App. 2011). “R.S. 14:130.1 (Count I) and second degree battery (Count II).”
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(A)(l)(a): 2 cases
State v. Harris, 157 So. 3d 1230 (La. Ct. App. 2015).
State v. White, 87 So. 3d 318 (La. Ct. App. 2012).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(B): 4 cases
State v. Jones, 610 So. 2d 1014 (La. Ct. App. 1992).
State of Louisiana v. Devion D Taylor (La. Ct. App. 2025).
State of Louisiana Versus Jonathon Brown (La. Ct. App. 2023).
State of Louisiana v. Joseph Lee Smith (La. Ct. App. 2024).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(B)(1): 19 cases
State v. Ayala, 243 So. 3d 681 (La. Ct. App. 2018). “R.S. 14:130.1. On April 27, 2017, Defendant pled guilty to the lesser offense of manslaughter and to obstruction of justice, along with the offense of aggravated escape, an offense charged under a separate docket number and which is also subject to an appeal of the sentence…”
State v. Roberson, 929 So. 2d 789 (La. Ct. App. 2006). “R.S. 14:130.1. Roberson was sentenced to serve life imprisonment at hard labor without benefits for the second degree murder conviction and the maximum sentence of 40 years at hard labor to be served consecutively for the obstruction of justice conviction.”
State v. Zachary, 995 So. 2d 631 (La. 2008).
State v. Royal, 857 So. 2d 1167 (La. Ct. App. 2003).
State v. Honea, 268 So. 3d 1117 (La. Ct. App. 2018).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(B)(2): 11 cases
State v. Thompson, 259 So. 3d 1257 (La. Ct. App. 2018). “R.S. 14:130.1 (count four). Defendant pleaded not guilty to the charged offenses at his arraignment on August 5, 2016.”
State v. Tatum, 40 So. 3d 1082 (La. Ct. App. 2010). “R.S. 14:130.1. Denzel Fields (“Fields”) was charged as a co-defendant as to Count 2 only.”
State v. Carter, 12 So. 3d 1091 (La. Ct. App. 2009).
State of Louisiana v. Terrance Dwayne Haywood (La. Ct. App. 2026).
State v. Washington, 76 So. 3d 1264 (La. Ct. App. 2011).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(B)(3): 8 cases
State v. Jones, 983 So. 2d 95 (La. 2008). “R.S. 14:130.1, and provides in pertinent part: *98 A.”
State v. Celestine, 671 So. 2d 896 (La. 1996).
State v. Dauzat, 532 So. 2d 275 (La. Ct. App. 1988).
State v. Blanche, 91 So. 3d 1189 (La. Ct. App. 2012).
State v. Penn, 996 So. 2d 331 (La. Ct. App. 2008).
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:130.1(b)(1): 1 case
State v. Zachary, 995 So. 2d 631 (La. 2008).
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