Source: http://www.ussc.gov/guidelines/2015-guidelines-manual/archive/2001-3c11
Timestamp: 2016-07-31 03:34:24
Document Index: 702388052

Matched Legal Cases: ['§3', '§ 1510', '§3', '§3', '§3', '§2', '§2', '§2', '§ 3146', '§\n1621', '§3']

2001 3c1_1 | United States Sentencing Commission
2001 3c1_1
2001 Federal Sentencing Guideline Manual §3C1.1. Obstructing or Impeding the Administration of
JusticeIf (A) the defendant willfully obstructed or impeded, or attempted to
obstruct or impede, the administration of justice during the course of the
investigation, prosecution, or sentencing of the instant offense of conviction,
and (B) the obstructive conduct related to (i) the defendants offense of
conviction and any relevant conduct; or (ii) a closely related offense,
increase the offense level by 2 levels. CommentaryApplication Notes:1. This adjustment applies if the defendants obstructive conduct
(A) occurred during the course of the investigation, prosecution, or
sentencing	of the defendants instant offense of conviction, and (B)
related to (i)	the defendants offense of conviction and any relevant
conduct; or (ii) an	otherwise closely related case, such as that of a co-defendant.2. This provision is not intended to punish a defendant for the
exercise of a constitutional right. A defendants denial of guilt (other
than a denial of guilt under oath that constitutes perjury), refusal
to admit guilt or provide information to a probation officer, or refusal to
of guilty is not a basis for application of this provision. In applying
this provision in respect to alleged false testimony or statements by the defendant,
the court should be cognizant that inaccurate testimony or statements
may result from confusion, mistake, or faulty memory and, thus, not all
inaccurate testimony or statements necessarily reflect a willful attempt
to	obstruct justice.3. Obstructive conduct can vary widely in nature, degree of planning,
and seriousness. Application Note 4 sets forth examples of the types
of conduct to which this adjustment is intended to apply. Application Note
5 sets forth
examples of less serious forms of conduct to which this enhancement is
not intended to apply, but that ordinarily can appropriately be sanctioned
is not subject to precise definition, comparison of the examples set forth
conduct to which this adjustment applies:(a) threatening, intimidating, or otherwise unlawfully influencing a
to do	so;(b) committing, suborning, or attempting to suborn perjury;(c) producing or attempting to produce a false, altered, or
counterfeit document or record during an official investigation or judicial
proceeding;(d) destroying or concealing or directing or procuring another person
learning that an official investigation has commenced or is about to
commence), or attempting to do so; however, if such conduct occurred contemporaneously
with arrest (e.g., attempting to swallow or throw away a controlled substance),
it shall not, standing alone, be sufficient to warrant an adjustment
obstruction unless it resulted in a material hindrance to the official
investigation or prosecution of the instant offense or the sentencing
of the	offender; (e) escaping or attempting to escape from custody before trial or
proceeding; (f) providing materially false information to a judge or magistrate;
(g) providing a materially false statement to a law enforcement
officer that significantly obstructed or impeded the official investigation
or	prosecution of the instant offense;(h) providing materially false information to a probation officer in
respect to a presentence or other investigation for the court;(i) other conduct prohibited by obstruction of justice provisions
under Title 18, United States Code (e.g., 18 U.S.C. §§ 1510,
1511).This adjustment also applies to any other obstructive conduct in
respect to the official investigation, prosecution, or sentencing of the
instant offense where there is a separate count of conviction for such
conduct.5.Some types of conduct ordinarily do not warrant application of this
guideline range or affect the determination of whether other guideline
adjustments apply (e.g., §3E1.1 (Acceptance of Responsibility)). However,
if the defendant is convicted of a separate count for such conduct, this
adjustment will apply and increase the offense level for the underlying offense
(i.e., the offense with respect to which the obstructive conduct
occurred). see Application Note 8, below. The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of the types of
conduct to which this application note applies:(a) providing a false name or identification document at arrest,
except where such conduct actually resulted in a significant hindrance
to the	investigation or prosecution of the instant offense;(b) making false statements, not under oath, to law enforcement
officers, unless Application Note 3(g) above applies;(c) providing incomplete or misleading information, not amounting to
a	material falsehood, in respect to a presentence investigation;(d) avoiding or fleeing from arrest (see, however, §3C1.2
(Reckless Endangerment During Flight));(e) lying to a probation or pretrial services officer about
defendants drug use while on pre-trial release, although such conduct
may	be a factor in determining whether to reduce the defendants sentence
under §3E1.1 (Acceptance of Responsibility).6. "Material" evidence, fact, statement, or information, as used in
this section, means evidence, fact, statement, or information that, if
believed, would tend to influence or affect the issue under
determination.7. If the defendant is convicted of an offense covered by §2J1.1
by	Material Witness), §2J1.6 (Failure to Appear by Defendant), §2J1.9
during the investigation, prosecution, or sentencing of the obstruction
offense itself (e.g., if the defendant threatened a witness during the course
prosecution for the obstruction offense).8. If the defendant is convicted both of an obstruction offense (e.g.,
18 U.S.C. § 3146 (Penalty for failure to appear); 18 U.S.C. §
1621 (Perjury generally)) and an underlying offense (the offense with
respect	to which the obstructive conduct occurred), the count for the obstruction
offense will be grouped with the count for the underlying offense under
subsection (c) of §3D1.2 (Groups of Closely Related Counts). The offense
level for that group of closely related counts will be the offense level
for the underlying offense increased by the 2-level adjustment specified by
section, or the offense level for the obstruction offense, whichever
is	greater.9. Under this section, the defendant is accountable for his own
conduct and for conduct that he aided or abetted, counseled, commanded,
induced, procured, or willfully caused.Historical Note: Effective November 1, 1987.
Amended effective November 1, 1989 (see Appendix C, amendments 251 and
252); November 1, 1990 (see Appendix C, amendment 347); November 1,
1991 (see Appendix C, amendment 415); November 1, 1992 (see
Appendix C, amendment 457); November 1, 1993 (see Appendix C, amendment
496); November 1, 1997 (see Appendix C, amendment 566);
November 1, 1998 (see Appendix C, amendments 579, 581, and
582). USSC HelpLine