Defendant's conviction for obstructing an official proceeding, involving defendant's disclosure of the true identity of an undercover officer to a subject under investigation, is affirmed where: 1) 18 U.S.C. section 1512(c)(2) incorporates the nexus requirement as articulated by the Supreme Court in U.S. v. Aguilar, 515 U.S. 593 (1995); 2) section 1512(c)(2) does not require that a defendant know of the existence of an ongoing official proceeding; and 3) a reasonable jury could conclude that the natural and probable effect of disclosing an undercover officer's identity was impeding a federal grand jury investigation into a suspect's methamphetamine distribution and her supply source.
Read US v. Phillips, No. 08-3272
Appellate Information
Filed October 20, 2009
Judges
Opinion by Judge Tacha
Counsel
For Appellant:
Dwight L. Miller, Topeka, KS
For Appellee:
Jared S. Maag, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Kansas, Topeka, KS