Free Republic

A D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel issued a ruling Friday that could impact scores of prison terms handed down to rioters convicted and sentenced for joining the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. The three-judge panel ruled that defendants convicted of obstructing the congressional certification had received improper enhancements of their sentences from district court judges who determined their actions amounted to "substantial interference with the 'administration of justice.'" The challenge to the enhancement was brought in the case of convicted rioter Larry Brock, who was sentenced in 2023 to two years in prison for his felony...

A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that an enhancement charge used against Jan. 6 defendants to lengthen their sentences couldn’t apply to the Capitol protest. In a unanimous opinion from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Patricia Millett, an Obama appointee, said prosecutors’ use of a “substantial interference with the administration of justice” charge to enhance the prison sentence of Larry Brock was too broad. “We hold that the ‘administration of justice’ enhancement does not apply to interference with the legislative process of certifying electoral votes,” wrote Judge Millett.... The ruling could affect other Jan. 6 defendants who...