Supreme Court Rules That , Some Jan. 6 Defendants, Were Improperly Charged.<br />NPR reports that the United States Supreme Court voted to limit which defendants accused of taking part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot can be charged by federal prosecutors.<br />The decision also casts doubt on two out of <br />the four felony counts in former President <br />Donald Trump's election subversion indictment.<br />According to conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, <br />the court ruled that the U.S. government must prove , “that the defendant impaired the availability or integrity <br />for use in an official proceeding of records, documents, <br />objects, or other things used in an official proceeding.”.<br />NPR reports that prosecutors relied <br />on a key criminal statute to prosecute <br />over 350 participants of the Capitol riot.<br />The statute makes it a crime to alter or <br />destroy official documents, or to otherwise <br />obstruct or impede official proceedings.<br />Roberts wrote that the statute was <br />not meant to broaden the meaning of <br />the law to make it a catchall provision. .<br />The decision will impact other cases related <br />to Jan. 6, many of which will have to be <br />resentenced, retried or defendants will be released. .<br />NYU law professor Ryan Goodman authored <br />a study that found only 346 of the 1,417 people <br />charged in connection with the Capitol riot <br />were charged under the obstruction statute.<br />The study also found that 71 people are still <br />awaiting trial on the obstruction charge, but over <br />half of them are also charged with another felony.<br />NPR points out that if found guilty of other felony charges, <br />the sentencing judge is still allowed to use the charge of <br />obstruction to determine the length of their sentence.
