U.S. Code » Title 18 » Part PART I— CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 73— OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE

18 U.S.C. § 1503

Influencing or injuring officer or juror generally

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(a) 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.(b) The punishment for an offense under this section is—(1) in the case of a killing, the punishment provided in sections 1111 and 1112;(2) 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(3) in any other case, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, a fine under this title, or both.(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 769; Pub. L. 97–291, § 4(c), Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1253; Pub. L. 103–322, title VI, § 60016, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(K), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1974, 2147; Pub. L. 104–214, § 1(3), Oct. 1, 1996, 110 Stat. 3017.)Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 241 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, § 135, 35 Stat. 1113; June 8, 1945, ch. 178, § 1, 59 Stat. 234).

The phrase “other committing magistrate” was substituted for “officer acting as such commissioner” in order to clarify meaning.

Minor changes were made in phraseology.

Editorial NotesAmendments

1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–214 inserted at end “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.”

1994—Pub. L. 103–322, § 330016(1)(K), which directed the substitution of “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000”, could not be executed because the words “fined not more than $5,000” did not appear in text subsequent to amendment by Pub. L. 103–322, § 60016. See below.

Pub. L. 103–322, § 60016, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted “magistrate judge” for “commissioner” in two places and “punished as provided in subsection (b)” for “fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both”, and added subsec. (b).

1982—Pub. L. 97–291, § 4(c)(1), substituted “or juror” for “, juror or witness” after “officer” in section catchline.

Pub. L. 97–291, § 4(c)(2), (3), substituted in text “grand” for “witness, in any court of the United States or before any United States commissioner or other committing magistrate, or any grand” after “or impede any”, and struck out “injures any party or witness in his person or property on account of his attending or having attended such court or examination before such officer, commissioner, or other committing magistrate, or on account of his testifying or having testified to any matter pending therein, or” after “discharge of his duty, or”.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1982 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 97–291 effective Oct. 12, 1982, see section 9(a) of Pub. L. 97–291, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1512 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1,819 cases (176 in the last 5 years), 1949–2026 · leading case: United States v. Demetrius Sharron Davis
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United States v. Demetrius Sharron Davis (2017) ca11 · cites it 14× “§ 1512 (b)(1) (Count Two); and (3) obstruction of justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503 (Count Three). The district court sentenced Davis to a total of one hundred twenty-one (121) months imprisonment.”
Isassi v. State (2010) texcrimapp · cites it 7× “However, the corresponding federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1503 , [32] prohibiting *641 influencing or injuring a judicial officer or juror has been construed and applied in numerous cases.”
United States v. Phillip Ray Jeter (1985) ca6 · cites it 18× “§ 641 ; 2) the federal obstruction of justice statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1503 ; and 3) conspiring under 18 U.”
United States v. Haldeman (1976) cadc · cites it 9× “Misuse of the CIA: Count 2 Appellants were also convicted on Count 2 of the indictment which charges them with obstruction of justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503 . 256 They understandably make no claim that the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions.”
United States v. Barry Bonds (2015) ca9 · cites it 32× “COURT OF APPEALS KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge, with whom Circuit Judges O’SCANNLAIN, GRABER, CALLAHAN and NGUYEN join, concurring: Can a single non-responsive answer by a grand jury witness support a conviction for obstruction of justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1503 ? I Defendant, who was…”
United States v. Barry Sussman (2013) ca3 · cites it 14× “§ 641 , and one count of obstruction of justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503 (a). On October 5, 2009, the District Court sentenced Sussman to an imprisonment term of 41 months on each count, to be served concurrently, followed by three years of supervised release.”
United States v. Sampson (2018) ca2 · cites it 7× “), Defendant-Appellant John Sampson ("Sampson") was convicted of one count of obstruction of justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503 (a), and two counts of making false statements to federal agents, in violation of 18 U.”
State v. Wilson (2020) md · cites it 11× “Obstruction of Justice under Federal Law 18 U.S.C. § 1503 (a) prohibits obstruction of justice, stating in pertinent part: “Whoever .”
United States v. Brenson (1997) ca11 · cites it 18× “Brenson was convicted of obstructing justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503 by corruptly endeavoring to influence, obstruct or impede the due administration of justice in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.”
United States v. Richardson (2012) ca5 · cites it 8× “of two counts of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the due administration of justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503 , and one count of knowingly making a materially false statement to a governmental agency, in violation of 18 U.”
United States v. Aguilar (1995) scotus · cites it 8× “" 18 U. S. C. § 1503 (emphasis added). The statute is structured as follows: first it proscribes persons from endeavoring to influence, intimidate, or impede grand or petit jurors or court officers in the discharge of their duties; it then prohibits injuring grand or petit…”
United States v. Scungio (2001) ca1 · cites it 19× “The government argued to the contrary, contending that the facts of record to which defendant had agreed, in addition to constituting the crime of making false statements, establish a violation of the “omnibus clause” of 18 U.S.C. § 1503 , which prohibits, in relevant part,…”
Show all 1,819 citing cases →
— 18 U.S.C. § 1503(a) — 2 cases
United States v. Scales (2001) ca4
Lihong Xia v. Kerry (2015) dcd
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