(TheIndependentStar.com) – A former police officer charged in the January 6th Capitol breach is returning to court after successfully convincing the U.S. Supreme Court to raise the bar on obstruction charges related to the event.
Joseph Fischer’s case has broader implications for over 250 other prosecutions tied to the Capitol riot when supporters of GOP nominee Donald Trump stormed the building to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election results.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that prosecutors must now prove that those charged with obstructing an official proceeding—such as Congress certifying the election—either “impaired the availability or integrity” of records or tried to do so.
This ruling has sparked new legal challenges, as the obstruction law was previously interpreted to apply to broader attempts to stop the congressional session.
As a result, federal prosecutors have dropped obstruction charges against more than 60 defendants from January 6th, although in at least three cases, they believe they can meet the higher standard set by the court.
Moreover, prosecutors have not yet decided whether they will try to reinstate the obstruction charge against Fischer, who, at the time of the riot, was a police officer. He still faces six other charges, including assaulting police, and has pleaded not guilty.
The hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington will determine the next steps in Fischer’s case. A federal judge had previously dismissed the obstruction charge against him, leading to the appeal that eventually reached the Supreme Court.
While Fischer’s hearing is specific to his case, the Supreme Court’s ruling affects all obstruction cases.
Trump, who faces two obstruction-related charges in a separate case accusing him of trying to overturn the 2020 election, is expected to mount his own legal challenge based on the Fischer decision.
In addition, prosecutors have stated in court filings that they are analyzing obstruction cases individually to determine if some defendants can still receive appropriate sentences based on other crimes.
Nick Smith, a defense attorney challenging the obstruction charges, criticized the government’s persistence, saying, “It’s remarkable for the government to be going at this specific charge so persistently when the Supreme Court has told them ‘no.’”
At the time of the Supreme Court ruling, around 259 defendants were charged with obstructing the congressional proceeding out of nearly 1,500 cases related to the Capitol riot.
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