Citing pending SCOTUS fish case, judge delays sentencing for friends of accused Boston bomber
A federal judge has delayed sentencing two men accused of hiding evidence in the case against the Boston bombing suspect, citing the potential impact of a pending U.S. Supreme Court case involving a fisherman charged under a post-Enron law.
U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock issued an order on Thursday that canceled sentencing hearings in the cases of Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and the Boston Globe report. Both are charged under a Sarbanes-Oxley Act provision barring destruction, mutilation, concealment or falsification of “any document, record or tangible object” with the intent to impede a federal investigation.
At issue in the Supreme Court case is whether the law is broad enough to snag a commercial fisherman who tried to hide undersize fish from authorities. Prosecutors say the fish is “tangible evidence” that is covered by the law, which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.
The men in the Boston case, college friends of suspected Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, are accused of taking a backpack from Tsarnaev’s room after seeing reports identifying him as a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. Tazhayakov was convicted in July and Kadyrbayev pleaded guilty in August.
Woodlock’s order said the pending Supreme Court case had created uncertainty, and sentencing would be postponed at least until the high court resolves the case and the parties consider the implications. He noted a “very vigorous argument” Wednesday before the U.S. Supreme Court in the fish case. Woodlock said the outcome could influence his decision on whether to accept Kadyrbayev’s plea deal, which called for a seven-year prison term.
