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18 USC Sec. 1512
01/26/98
TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I - CRIMES
CHAPTER 73 - OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
HEADING
Sec. 1512. Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant
STATUTE
(a)(1) Whoever kills or attempts to kill another person, with
intent to -
(A) prevent the attendance or testimony of any person in an official proceeding;
(B) prevent the production of a record, document, or other object, in an official proceeding; or
(C) prevent the communication by any person to a law enforcement officer or judge of the United States of information
relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense or a violation of conditions of probation, parole, or
release pending judicial proceedings; shall be punished as provided in paragraph (2).
(a)(2) The punishment for an offense under this subsection is -
(A) in the case of murder (as defined in section 1111), the death penalty or imprisonment for life, and in the case of any
other killing, the punishment provided in section 1112; and
(B) in the case of an attempt, imprisonment for not more than twenty years.
(b) Whoever knowingly uses intimidation or physical force, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to do
so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to -
(1) influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in
an official proceeding;
(2) cause or induce any person to -
(A) withhold testimony, or withhold a record, document, or other object, from an official proceeding;
(B) alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an object with intent to impair the object's integrity or availability for use
in an official proceeding;
(C) evade legal process summoning that person to appear as a witness, or to produce a record, document, or other object, in
an official proceeding; or
(D) be absent from an official proceeding to which such person has been summoned by legal process; or
(3) hinder, delay, or prevent the communication to a law enforcement officer or judge of the United States of information
relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense or a violation of conditions of probation, parole, or
release pending judicial proceedings; shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten
years, or both.
(c) Whoever intentionally harasses another person and thereby
hinders, delays, prevents, or dissuades any person from -
(1) attending or testifying in an official proceeding;
(2) reporting to a law enforcement officer or judge of the United States the commission or possible commission of a Federal
offense or a violation of conditions of probation, parole, or release pending judicial proceedings;
(3) arresting or seeking the arrest of another person in connection with a Federal offense; or
(4) causing a criminal prosecution, or a parole or probation revocation proceeding, to be sought or instituted, or assisting
in such prosecution or proceeding; or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned
not more than one year, or both.
(d) In a prosecution for an offense under this section, it is an
affirmative defense, as to which the defendant has the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence, that the conduct
consisted solely of lawful conduct and that the defendant's sole intention was to encourage, induce, or cause the other person to
testify truthfully.
(e) For the purposes of this section -
(1) an official proceeding need not be pending or about to be
instituted at the time of the offense; and
(2) the testimony, or the record, document, or other object need not be admissible in evidence or free of a claim of
privilege.
(f) In a prosecution for an offense under this section, no state
of mind need be proved with respect to the circumstance -
(1) that the official proceeding before a judge, court, magistrate, grand jury, or government agency is before a judge or
court of the United States, a United States magistrate, a bankruptcy judge, a Federal grand jury, or a Federal Government
agency; or
(2) that the judge is a judge of the United States or that the law enforcement officer is an officer or employee of the Federal
Government or a person authorized to act for or on behalf of the Federal Government or serving the Federal Government as an
adviser or consultant.
(g) There is extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this section.
(h) A prosecution under this section or section 1503 may be brought in the district in which the official proceeding (whether
or not pending or about to be instituted) was intended to be affected or in the district in which the conduct constituting the
alleged offense occurred.
(i) If the offense under this section occurs in connection with a
trial of a criminal case, 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.
SOURCE
(Added Pub. L. 97-291, Sec. 4(a), Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1249;
amended Pub. L. 99-646, Sec. 61, Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3614; Pub. L. 100-690, title VII, Sec. 7029(a), (c), Nov. 18, 1988, 102
Stat. 4397, 4398; Pub. L. 103-322, title VI, Sec. 60018, title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(O), (U), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1975,
2148; Pub. L. 104-214, Sec. 1(2), Oct. 1, 1996, 110 Stat. 3017; Pub. L. 104-294, title VI, Sec. 604(b)(31), Oct. 11, 1996, 110
Stat. 3508.)
MISCELLANEOUS
AMENDMENTS
1996 - Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 104-294 inserted ''and'' after
semicolon at end.
Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 104-214 added subsec. (i).
1994 - Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 60018, amended subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment,
subpar. (A) read as follows: ''(A) in the case of a killing, the punishment provided in
sections 1111 and 1112 of this title; and''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 330016(1)(U), substituted ''fined under this title'' for ''fined not more than $250,000'' in
concluding provisions. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 330016(1)(O), substituted
''fined under this title'' for ''fined not more than $25,000'' in concluding provisions.
1988 - Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100-690, Sec. 7029(c), substituted ''threatens, or corruptly persuades'' for ''or threatens''.
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 100-690, Sec. 7029(a), added subsec. (h).
1986 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99-646, Sec. 61(2), (3), added subsec. (a) and redesignated former
subsec. (a) as (b).
Subsecs. (b) to (g). Pub. L. 99-646, Sec. 61(1), (3), redesignated former subsec. (a) as (b), inserted '', delay, or
prevent'', and redesignated former subsecs. (b) to (f) as (c) to (g), respectively.
CHANGE OF NAME
Reference to United States magistrate or to magistrate deemed to
refer to United States magistrate judge pursuant to section 321 of Pub. L. 101-650, set out as a note under section 631 of Title 28,
Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 104-294 effective Sept. 13, 1994, see section 604(d) of Pub. L. 104-294, set out as a note under section
13 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section 9 of Pub. L. 97-291 provided that:
''(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act (enacting this section and sections
1513 to 1515, 3579, and 3580 of this title, amending sections 1503, 1505, 1510, and 3146 of this title and Rule 32 of the Federal Rules
of Criminal Procedure, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 1501 and 3579 of this title) shall
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act (Oct. 12, 1982).
''(b)(1) The amendment made by section 2 of this Act (enacting provisions set out as a note under this section) shall apply to
presentence reports ordered to be made on or after March 1, 1983.
''(2) The amendments made by section 5 of this Act (enacting sections 3579 and 3580 of this title) shall apply with respect to
offenses occurring on or after January 1, 1983.''
CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSES
Section 2 of Pub. L. 97-291 provided that:
''(a) The Congress finds and declares that:
''(1) Without the cooperation of victims and witnesses, the criminal justice system would cease to function; yet with few
exceptions these individuals are either ignored by the criminal justice system or simply used as tools to identify and punish
offenders.
''(2) All too often the victim of a serious crime is forced to suffer physical, psychological, or financial hardship first as a
result of the criminal act and then as a result of contact with a criminal justice system unresponsive to the real needs of such
victim.
''(3) Although the majority of serious crimes falls under the jurisdiction of State and local law enforcement agencies, the
Federal Government, and in particular the Attorney General, has an important leadership role to assume in ensuring that victims
of crime, whether at the Federal, State, or local level, are given proper treatment by agencies administering the criminal
justice system.
''(4) Under current law, law enforcement agencies must have cooperation from a victim of crime and yet neither the agencies
nor the legal system can offer adequate protection or assistance when the victim, as a result of such cooperation, is threatened
or intimidated.
''(5) While the defendant is provided with counsel who can explain both the criminal justice process and the rights of the
defendant, the victim or witness has no counterpart and is usually not even notified when the defendant is released on bail,
the case is dismissed, a plea to a lesser charge is accepted, or a court date is changed.
''(6) The victim and witness who cooperate with the prosecutor often find that the transportation, parking facilities, and child
care services at the court are unsatisfactory and they must often share the pretrial waiting room with the defendant or his family
and friends.
''(7) The victim may lose valuable property to a criminal only to lose it again for long periods of time to Federal law
enforcement officials, until the trial and sometimes and (sic) appeals are over; many times that property is damaged or lost,
which is particularly stressful for the elderly or poor.
''(b) The Congress declares that the purposes of this Act (see
Short Title of 1982 Amendment note set out under section 1501 of this title) are -
''(1) to enhance and protect the necessary role of crime victims and witnesses in the criminal justice process;
''(2) to ensure that the Federal Government does all that is possible within limits of available resources to assist victims
and witnesses of crime without infringing on the constitutional rights of the defendant; and
''(3) to provide a model for legislation for State and local
governments.''
FEDERAL GUIDELINES FOR TREATMENT OF CRIME VICTIMS AND WITNESSES IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Section 6 of Pub. L. 97-291, as amended by Pub. L. 98-473, title
II, Sec. 1408(b), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2177, provided that:
''(a) Within two hundred and seventy days after the date of enactment of this Act (Oct. 12, 1982), the Attorney General shall
develop and implement guidelines for the Department of Justice consistent with the purposes of this Act (see Short Title of 1982
Amendment note set out under section 1501 of this title). In preparing the guidelines the Attorney General shall consider the
following objectives:
''(1) Services to victims of crime. - Law enforcement personnel
should ensure that victims routinely receive emergency social and medical services as soon as possible and are given information on
the following -
''(A) availability of crime victim compensation (where applicable);
''(B) community-based victim treatment programs;
''(C) the role of the victim in the criminal justice process, including what they can expect from the system as well as what
the system expects from them; and
''(D) stages in the criminal justice process of significance to a crime victim, and the manner in which information about
such stages can be obtained.
''(2) Notification of availability of protection. - A victim or
witness should routinely receive information on steps that law enforcement officers and attorneys for the Government can take to
protect victims and witnesses from intimidation.
''(3) Scheduling changes. - All victims and witnesses who have
been scheduled to attend criminal justice proceedings should either be notified as soon as possible of any scheduling changes
which will affect their appearances or have available a system for alerting witnesses promptly by telephone or otherwise.
''(4) Prompt notification to victims of serious crimes. - Victims, witnesses, relatives of those victims and witnesses who
are minors, and relatives of homicide victims should, if such persons provide the appropriate official with a current address
and telephone number, receive prompt advance notification, if possible, of -
''(A) the arrest of an accused;
''(B) the initial appearance of an accused before a judicial officer;
''(C) the release of the accused pending judicial proceedings; and
''(D) proceedings in the prosecution and punishment of the accused (including entry of a plea of guilty, trial,
sentencing, and, where a term of imprisonment is imposed, a hearing to determine a parole release date and the release of
the accused from such imprisonment).
''(5) Consultation with victim. - The victim of a serious crime, or in the case of a minor child or a homicide, the family
of the victim, should be consulted by the attorney for the Government in order to obtain the views of the victim or family
about the disposition of any Federal criminal case brought as a result of such crime, including the views of the victim or family
about -
''(A) dismissal;
''(B) release of the accused pending judicial proceedings;
''(C) plea negotiations; and
''(D) pretrial diversion program.
''(6) Separate waiting area. - Victims and other prosecution witnesses should be provided prior to court appearance a waiting
area that is separate from all other witnesses.
''(7) Property return. - Law enforcement agencies and prosecutor should promptly return victim's property held for
evidentiary purposes unless there is a compelling law enforcement reason for retaining it.
''(8) Notification to employer. - A victim or witness who so requests should be assisted by law enforcement agencies and
attorneys for the Government in informing employers that the need for victim and witness cooperation in the prosecution of the case
may necessitate absence of that victim or witness from work. A victim or witness who, as a direct result of a crime or of
cooperation with law enforcement agencies or attorneys for the Government, is subjected to serious financial strain, should be
assisted by such agencies and attorneys in explaining to creditors the reason for such serious financial strain.
''(9) Training by federal law enforcement training facilities.
- Victim assistance education and training should be offered to persons taking courses at Federal law enforcement training
facilities and attorneys for the Government so that victims may be promptly, properly, and completely assisted.
''(10) General victim assistance. - The guidelines should also
ensure that any other important assistance to victims and witnesses, such as the adoption of transportation, parking, and
translator services for victims in court be provided.
''(b) Nothing in this title shall be construed as creating a cause of action against the United States.
''(c) The Attorney General shall assure that all Federal law enforcement agencies outside of the Department of Justice adopt
guidelines consistent with subsection (a) of this section.''
(Amendment of section 6 of Pub. L. 97-291 by Pub. L. 98-473, set
out above, effective 30 days after Oct. 12, 1984, see section 1409(a) of Pub. L. 98-473, set out as an Effective Date note under
section 10601 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.)
SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS
This section is referred to in sections 1514, 1515, 1961, 2516,
3142 of this title.
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