9th Cir.;
12-50300
The court of appeals affirmed a district court judgment of conviction. The court held that a district court erred in instructing a jury that all threats to testify or provide information in an ongoing criminal investigation are “wrongful” under the Hobbs Act if made with intent to induce or take advantage of fear. The court held further that the error was harmless where an attorney’s threats to have his client cooperate with, or alternatively, impede, the government’s investigation were wrongful under the Hobbs Act, and therefore clearly unlawful under the circumstances.
