The Supreme Court made headlines in June ruled that a federal statute had been misused to charge hundreds of January 6 defendants.

That decision left federal prosecutors stunned, and it could lead to defendants having the convictions reversed. 

Case concerned law Congress passed after Enron financial scandal

Known as Joseph Fischer v. United States, the case concerned Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania law enforcement officer who went into the Capitol on January 6, 2020.

Fischer was charged under Section 1512(c)(2), a law which Congress passed roughly two decades ago following the Enron financial scandal.

His attorneys argued that Fischer's conduct was not the sort of activity lawmakers sought to criminalize under the statute, a position with which six members of America's highest judicial body agreed.

In writing his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts voiced skepticism over whether Congress would "hide away" a wide-ranging charge that covered so much more conduct than the document destruction which had taken place at Enron.

"The better conclusion is that subsection (c)(2) was designed by Congress to capture other forms of evidence and other means of impairing its integrity or availability beyond those Congress specified in (c)(1)," Roberts concluded.

Former Virginia police officer sentenced to seven years in prison

As The Hill pointed out in an article published this week, more than 350 rioters have been charged under 1512(c)(2), including former Virginia police officer Thomas Robertson.

Roberts was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after he was convicted in 2022 on six charges, with violating 1512(c)(2) being among them.

Prosecutors asserted that he employed "his specialized training" as a law enforcement professional to prevent police from pushing back the mob. This included striking two offices with a large wooden stick.

The Hill noted that Robertson's sentence was subsequently vacated following a federal appeals court ruling on sentencing guidelines.

Robertson's defense attorneys ask that his sentence be cut down significantly

Although the court stated that the Supreme Court's decision in Fischer should be considered when a new sentence is imposed, prosecutors rejected the idea that Robertson deserves any leniency in a filing they submitted last month.

However, Robertson's attorneys countered that he should receive a sentence of between 24 and 30 months, stressing the fact that their client has been "a model inmate for the last 3 years."

"While incarcerated for the past 37 months, Mr. Robertson has made the most of his time by actively seeking self-improvement and educational opportunities," they wrote.