United States v. Dinome case brief

United States v. Dinome

1. 1. Facts: Two mobsters killed a person who had information concerning the mobsters involvement in a stolen car ring. The mobsters are charged with a 241 violation; violating the man’s right to be a federal witness.
   2. Issue: Whether there is a right to be a federally protected witness?
   3. The court does seem to recognize this right to be a federal witness (Matt says that this is not based in the constitution, rather it is derived from the obstruction of justice statutes); since it can be shown that the mobsters knew that murder is illegal, knew the guy possessed information regarding their criminality, and took action specifically to interfere with this man heading to the authorities, then they had the specific intent required for the 241 violation.