Calvin Bernhardt v. United States
FifthAmendment Securities
Should this Court now define corruptly persuade' and settle the matter for itself and the circuits?
QUESTION PRESENTED 1. A person can be guilty under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b) if he “corruptly persuades” someone else to withhold testimony or an object from an official proceeding, destroy an object with intent to impair the object’s availability for use in an official proceeding, or hinder the communication to law enforcement officers of information related to a federal crime. ; . The federal circuit courts of appeals that have defined “corruptly persuade” have done so in multiple divergent ways. This Court, in Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States, 544 U.S. 696 (2005), purported to define it but left its substance and bounds unclear. ! Should this Court now define “corruptly persuade” and settle the matter for | itself and the circuits?