5 Supreme Court cases to watch in 2024
Jan. 6 Capitol riot obstruction case
In December, the high court announced it would hear arguments in the case of a former Boston, Massachusetts, police officer charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Defendant Joseph Fischer, who faces a multiple-count indictment for his involvement in the riot, is seeking to dismiss a charge of obstructing an official proceeding, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
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Last April, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed a lower court ruling in 2022 that dismissed the obstruction of an official proceeding charge against Fischer and three other defendants.
"Notably, no fewer than fourteen district judges in this jurisdiction have adopted the broad reading of the statute urged by the government to uphold the prosecution of defendants who allegedly participated in the Capitol riot," wrote Circuit Judge Florence Y. Pan, a Biden appointee, for the panel majority.
"Although the opinions of those district judges are not binding on us, the near unanimity of the rulings is striking, as well as the thorough and persuasive reasoning in the decisions. The district judge in the instant case stands alone in ruling that § 1512(c)(2) cannot reach the conduct of January 6 defendants."
The Supreme Court's decision in this case might influence the legal proceedings against Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who is currently facing an obstruction charge via an indictment from a Washington, D.C. grand jury last year.
