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“Corruptly” Continues Consistently Confounding Courts: A New Look At “Corruptly Persuades” In 18 U.S.C. § 1512(B) Obstruction Of Justice, Connor Nelson

Utah Law Review

The word “corruptly” presents significant interpretation problems to courts construing the word in statutes. This word has created a circuit split between the Second and Third Circuits over 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b), which forbids corruptly persuading witnesses not to cooperate with federal authorities. The Second Circuit requires defendants to have an improper purpose for persuading a witness not to cooperate. The Third Circuit requires defendants to know they have a corrupt motive behind their persuasion. Rather than declare one approach superior to the other, this Note instead contends that both Circuits achieve the same outcome for two reasons. First, both …