Marinello v. United States

Decided March 21, 2018. Stephen Gerald Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 16-1144 · 584 U.S. 1 (2018) · Cited 82 times

Holding

To convict a defendant under 26 U. S. C. §7212(a)—which forbids “corruptly or by force or threats of force . . . obstruct[ing] or imped[ing], or endeavor[ing] to obstruct or impede, the due administration of [the Internal Revenue Code]”—the Government must prove the defendant was aware of a pending tax-related proceeding, such as a particular investigation or audit, or could reasonably foresee that such a proceeding would commence.

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 7–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

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.

• United States v. Aguilar · 515 U.S. 593 (1995)
• Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States · 544 U.S. 696 (2005)
• Cheek v. United States · 498 U.S. 192 (1991)
• Sansone v. United States · 380 U.S. 343 (1965)
• Jama v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement · 543 U.S. 335 (2005)
• Pettibone v. United States · 148 U.S. 197 (1893)
• United States v. Bisceglia · 420 U.S. 141 (1975)
• Smith v. Goguen · 415 U.S. 566 (1974)
• Freytag v. Commissioner · 501 U.S. 868 (1991)
• Schad v. Arizona · 501 U.S. 624 (1991)
• United States v. Stevens · 559 U.S. 460 (2010)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Kucana v. Holder · 558 U.S. 233 (2010)
• Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare v. Davenport · 495 U.S. 552 (1990)
• Marx v. General Revenue Corp. · 568 U.S. 371 (2013)
• Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons · 552 U.S. 214 (2008)
• Smith v. City of Jackson · 544 U.S. 228 (2005)
• McBoyle v. United States · 283 U.S. 25 (1931)
• United States v. Rodgers · 466 U.S. 475 (1984)
• Barber v. Thomas · 560 U.S. 474 (2010)
• Hubbard v. United States · 514 U.S. 695 (1995)
• Lewis v. City of Chicago · 560 U.S. 205 (2010)

Cited by

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

• Fischer v. United States · 603 U.S. 480 (2024)
• Snyder v. United States · 603 U.S. 1 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

Explore from here

Stephen Gerald Breyer’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2018). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).