Fowler v. United States

Fowler v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided May 26, 2011
Full case name	Fowler v. United States
Citations	563 U.S. 668 ( more )
Holding
When someone is charged of a killing under the federal witness-tampering statute, the state must prove a violation by showing there was a reasonable likelihood that a relevant communication would have been made to a federal officer.
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices Antonin Scalia  · Anthony Kennedy Clarence Thomas  · Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer  · Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor  · Elena Kagan
Case opinions
Majority	Breyer
Concurrence	Scalia
Dissent	Alito, joined by Ginsburg

Fowler v. United States, 563 U.S. 668(2011), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that when someone is charged of a killing under the federal witness-tampering statute, the state must prove a violation by showing there was a reasonable likelihood that a relevant communication would have been made to a federal officer. ^{[1] [2]}

Background

While preparing to rob a bank, Charles Andrew Fowler and others were discovered by a local police officer, whom Fowler killed. Fowler was convicted of violating the federal witness-tampering statute, which makes it a crime "to kill another person, with intent to... prevent the communication by any person to a [Federal] law enforcement officer" of "information relating to the... possible commission of a Federal offense." Rejecting Fowler's argument that the evidence was insufficient to show that he had killed the officer intending to prevent him from communicating with a federal officer, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a showing of a possible or potential communication to federal authorities was sufficient. ^[1]

Opinion of the court

The Supreme Court issued an opinion on May 26, 2011. ^[1]

References

1. Fowler v. United States, 563 U.S. 668 (2011).
2. Burns, Amy (May 28, 2011). "Opinion analysis: Fowler v. United States". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved September 4, 2025.

External links

• Text of Fowler v. United States, 563 U.S. 668(2011) is available from: Cornell Findlaw Justia

This article incorporates written opinion of a United States federal court. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the text is in the public domain .