Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Third Circuit Blog

Criminal Law

: Third Circuit Blog

Court Construes Meaning of Federal ?Official? for Purposes of Threat Statute; Rejects Self-Representation Challenge

By Candace Hom, Melinda Ghilardi, Nancy Rimmer, Sarah Gannett, Renee Pietropaolo and Tieffa Harper

In United States v. Michael Bankoff, Nos. 08-3275 & 08-3688 (July 27, 2010), the Court holds that the federal statute criminalizing certain threats of federal ?officials? extends to both ?officers and employees.? Separately, the Court determines that there was no abuse of discretion in a district court ruling temporarily barring the defendant from representing himself.Section 115 of Title 18, enacted in 1984, defines certain crimes relating to threats of a federal ?official? ?whose killing would be a crime under? 18 U.S.C. § 1114. Section 1114 in turn covers ?any officer or employee of the United States.?? Michael Bankoff argued that § 115?s use of the term ?official? limited that statute?s scope to ?officers? within the meaning of § 1114, thus excluding ?employees...continue to full post

Full post as published by Third Circuit Blog on July 29, 2010 (boomark / email).