Federal Judiciary

Unfiltered: Court Upholds Obstruction Enhancement Imposed for Defendant's Facebook Post

Facebook often provides a goldmine of information in litigants in civil and criminal actions. For Harry French, it led to an obstruction of justice enhancement and a lengthier sentence.

Prior to his sentencing for carjacking and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence but prior to his sentencing, French, apparently using a contraband cell phone while in custody, posted a message on his Facebook page referring to one of the co-defendants who testified against him during his trial, Dequan Blackmon, as a "rat." His co-defendant also had a Facebook account, so French tagged him in the post, meaning that Blackmon's friends also saw the post.

This post led the probation officer to recommend a two-level enhancement for obstruction of justice pursuant to USSG § 3C1.1.  The district court subsequently agreed and imposed the enhancement over French's objection.

On appeal, French challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions, claimed his convictions violated the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution, and that the Court erred in imposing the obstruction of justice enhancement. The Court disagreed. In its opinion, the Court quickly dispensed with French's sufficiency of the evidence and double jeopardy arguments and affirmed French's sentence. It rejected French's argument that he could not have intended to obstruct justice unless he thought Blackmon would testify at his sentencing, holding that since others besides Blackmon could view his Facebook post, his threat could have influenced potential witnesses, including the victims in his case. Thus, the Court concluded the District Court reasonably inferred French was attempting to influence witnesses who might testify during his sentencing and that the enhancement was proper.

For good or ill, social media provides a forum where millions of people can express their opinions and air their grievances. For Harry French, this decision led to an obstruction of justice enhancement.

Full post as published by Sixth Circuit Blog on September 30, 2020 (boomark / email).