(18 U.S.C. 1512(c), 1512(d)) Subsection 1512(c) proscribes obstruction of official proceedings by destruction of evidence and is punishable by imprisonment for not more than 20 years.
An obstruction blocks things, like a roadblock prevents drivers to enter a street or a piece of food cuts off your windpipe. All types of obstructions block things. If you put a shelf in your doorway, that would be an obstruction: people would have a hard time getting around it.
Obstruction of justice broadly refers to actions by individuals that illegally prevent or influence the outcome of a government proceeding.
At its core, obstruction of justice, involves any act that interferes with the proper functioning of the legal system or the investigation of a crime. This interference can manifest in various forms, such as witness tampering, destruction of evidence, lying to investigators, or obstructing court proceedings.
: the crime or act of willfully interfering with the process of justice and law especially by influencing, threatening, harming, or impeding a witness, potential witness, juror, or judicial or legal officer or by furnishing false information in or otherwise impeding an investigation or legal process.
(a) If any person shall willfully and unlawfully resist, delay or obstruct a public officer in discharging or attempting to discharge an official duty, the person is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
An obstruction blocks things, like a roadblock prevents drivers to enter a street or a piece of food cuts off your windpipe. All types of obstructions block things. If you put a shelf in your doorway, that would be an obstruction: people would have a hard time getting around it.