Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al., Petitioners v. Michael B. Whiting et al

Decided May 26, 2011. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 09-115 · 563 U.S. 582 (2011) · Cited 415 times

Holding

In such circumstances, the Government must establish a § 1512(a) (1)(C) violation by showing there was a reasonable likelihood that a relevant communication would have been made to a federal officer.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• De Canas v. Bica · 424 U.S. 351 (1976)
• Buckman Co. v. Plaintiffs' Legal Committee · 531 U.S. 341 (2001)
• Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council · 530 U.S. 363 (2000)
• Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 535 U.S. 137 (2002)
• Hines v. Davidowitz · 312 U.S. 52 (1941)
• United States v. Locke · 529 U.S. 89 (2000)
• Dolan v. United States Postal Service · 546 U.S. 481 (2006)
• American Ins. Assn. v. Garamendi · 539 U.S. 396 (2003)
• Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr · 518 U.S. 470 (1996)
• Boyle v. United Technologies Corp. · 487 U.S. 500 (1988)
• Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Assn. · 505 U.S. 88 (1992)
• Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons · 552 U.S. 214 (2008)
• Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc. · 489 U.S. 141 (1989)
• Helicopteros Nacionales De Colombia, S. A. v. Hall · 466 U.S. 408 (1984)
• Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Services, Inc. · 545 U.S. 546 (2005)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Jones v. United States · 526 U.S. 227 (1999)
• Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc. · 531 U.S. 457 (2001)
• English v. General Electric Co. · 496 U.S. 72 (1990)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Kamen v. Kemper Financial Services, Inc. · 500 U.S. 90 (1991)
• Davis v. Michigan Department of the Treasury · 489 U.S. 803 (1989)
• Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. · 464 U.S. 238 (1984)
• CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Easterwood · 507 U.S. 658 (1993)
• New York State Department of Social Services v. Dublino · 413 U.S. 405 (1973)
• International Paper Co. v. Ouellette · 479 U.S. 481 (1987)
• Bates v. United States · 522 U.S. 23 (1997)
• United States v. Heirs of Boisdoré · 49 U.S. 113 (1849)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. National Center for Immigrants' Rights, Inc. · 502 U.S. 183 (1991)
• United States v. Shreveport Grain & Elevator Co. · 287 U.S. 77 (1932)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Kansas v. Garcia · 589 U.S. 191 (2020)
• Gobeille v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. · 577 U.S. 312 (2016)
• Arizona v. United States · 567 U.S. 387 (2012)
• Puerto Rico v. Franklin California Tax-Free Trust · 579 U.S. 115 (2016)
• Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach · 568 U.S. 115 (2013)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

John Glover Roberts Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2011). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).