Obstruction of justice in Rhode Island covers a range of conduct interfering with law enforcement, court proceedings, or witnesses. Common obstruction charges include obstructing a police officer in the execution of duty, witness tampering, evidence tampering, bribery of public officials, and perjury. The charge is often added to a primary criminal case as a stacking charge, increasing the defendant’s overall exposure. Penalties scale from misdemeanor (up to 1 year jail) for simple obstruction to felony with multi-year prison exposure for witness tampering or evidence destruction. Federal obstruction charges add years on top under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
