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10-1762 & 10-2230 U.S. v. Johnson

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//August 11, 2011//

10-1762 & 10-2230 U.S. v. Johnson

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//August 11, 2011//

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Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Destroying documents

18 U.S.C. 1512(c)(1) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act includes not just the destruction of documents in white-collar investigations, but also the destruction of narcotics in a drug trafficking investigation.

“While § 1512(c)(1), in particular, was added to the statute in 2002 by Sarbanes-Oxley, the phrase ‘record, document, or other object’ was taken directly from the original statutory text. The repetition of the same language tells us nothing of what Congress intended, or did, in 2002. Given the history of § 1512, it is not surprising that this and a number of other courts have applied the same language in § 1512(c)(1) just as broadly, reaching the destruction of evidence other than records or documents and outside the white-collar context—including contraband. In United States v. Matthews, we upheld the conviction of a police chief who destroyed a firearm that was to be used as evidence in a case against his friend who was charged as a felon in possession of a firearm. 505 F.3d 698, 704 (7th Cir. 2007). And Lamb’s own brief confirms that Matthews is not an outlier: ten out of the twenty-seven prosecutions under § 1512(c)(1) across the country that she cites in her brief—just over thirty seven percent—have involved an ‘other object’ that would not meet Lamb’s limited reading. See, e.g., United States v. Ortiz, 220 Fed. Appx. 13, 17 (2d Cir. 2007) (car); United States v. Thompson, 237 Fed. Appx. 575, 576 (11th Cir. 2007) (gun, money, and crack cocaine). While it is true that Matthews (nor, for that matter, any court to our knowledge) was presented with the same argument that Lamb makes, the uncontroverted impression of several courts cuts against her attempt to narrow the statute.”

Affirmed.

10-1762 & 10-2230 U.S. v. Johnson

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Reagan, J., Manion, J.

TAGS: 7th Circuit Digest, Criminal Digest

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