A federal judge on the court overseeing the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot trials has expressed frustration with the slow appeal process as the Supreme Court is considering one of the charges against the rioters.
“It’s been three years, we have hundreds of cases pending and we still don’t have any clear law,” said Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Judge Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, made the comments Wednesday at an American Bar Association meeting at the Capital Hilton.
“It’s a little frustrating for a mere district judge to find out after we’ve got hundred of cases finished what the law is,” the judge said, adding that he should stop commenting to avoid getting in “trouble.”
The Supreme Court is mulling the application of the charge of obstructing an official proceeding against participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and former President Donald Trump.
The case Fischer v. United States concerns Joseph Fischer, a former police officer who attended Mr. Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on the Ellipse near the White House. He then left the District but returned to join the riot at the Capitol after members of Congress were forced to suspend the count of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election.
Mr. Fischer entered the Capitol and made it about 20 feet into the building. He said he was pushed by the crowd and bumped into a line of police officers who pepper-sprayed him. He left the building after four minutes.
Federal authorities charged him with seven counts related to the Jan. 6 rally, but the one before the justices is Title 18 Section 1512(c), which reads: “Whoever corruptly — (1) alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding; or (2) otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.”
Congress enacted the law after the 2001 Enron scandal, in which the company shredded documents to hide business fraud.
Mr. Fischer is charged under the second section of the law, which Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said is a catchall for all sorts of activities and official proceedings.
Jeffrey Green, Mr. Fischer’s attorney, countered during oral arguments last month that the law is aimed only at evidence tampering, not riots.
A federal judge for the District of Columbia sided with Mr. Fischer and dismissed the charge, though judges in other Jan. 6 cases allowed the law to be used.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia sided with the Biden administration.
The federal government estimates 350 cases included the obstruction charge, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Legal analysts have said the case could affect some of the charges special counsel Jack Smith has brought against Mr. Trump, who faces the same charge at issue in Mr. Fischer’s case.
The Supreme Court will issue a ruling by the end of its term in June.
While the case is pending, some lower court judges have allowed Jan. 6 defendants out of jail upon the agreement they would return if the high court rules against Mr. Fischer. His case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols. Mr. Fischer has pleaded not guilty to seven criminal charges stemming from the riot.