Whether a conviction under a state witness intimidation statute violates the First Amendment and Due Process Clause

QUESTIONS PRESENTED The State of Mississippi convicted Petitioner of one count of witness intimidation pursuant to Section 97-9-113(d) of the Mississippi Code, which makes it a crime to ask a witness to provide false information in connection with an ongoing investigation. The sole witness the State of Mississippi presented at trial to support that conviction told the jury that she, the witness, had falsely told law enforcement that Petitioner had engaged in criminal activity. As to the witness intimidation charge, the witness informed the jury that Petitioner never intimidated, or attempted to intimidate, her and that Petitioner only asked the witness to go back to the police and tell them the truth to correct the false accusations the witness had made against Petitioner. The Mississippi Court of Appeals reversed Petitioner’s conviction for witness i intimidation, but the Mississippi Supreme Court reinstated the conviction on the State of Mississippi’s writ of certiorari to that Court. The questions presented are: 1. Whether it violates a citizens’ rights under the First Amendment’s Freedom of Speech clause for a State to prosecute that citizen for asking someone to correct false incriminating information they have provided law enforcement in connection with a criminal investigation. 2. Whether a conviction pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 97-9-113(d) offends the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment in the absence of evidence that the defendant sought to have the witness provide false information to police in an ongoing investigation. ii PARTIES TO PROCEEDING AND RELATED CASES PARTIES TO PROCEEDING: Courtney Rainey, Petitioner State of Mississippi, Respondent CASES: States of Mississippi v. Courtney Rainey, Mississippi Cause No. 2018-0512 (Closed) State of Mississippi v. Courtney Rainey, Mississippi Cause No:, 2018-0513 (Closed) States of Mississippi v. Courtney Rainey, Mississippi Cause No. 2018-0514 (Closed) States of Mississippi v. Courtney Rainey, Mississippi Cause No. 2018-0515 (Closed) States of Mississippi v. Courtney Rainey, Mississippi Cause No. 2018-0516 (Closed) States of Mississippi v. Courtney Rainey, Mississippi Cause No. 2018-0517, (Closed) States of Mississippi v. Courtney Rainey, Mississippi Cause No. 2018-0518, States of Mississippi v. Courtney Rainey, Mississippi Cause No. 2019-0059 iii