United States v. James Curtis Bernard

A jury convicted the appellant, James Curtis Bernard, of violating the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951, which provides, in relevant part:(a) Whoever in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce, by extortion ... shall be imprisoned for not more than twenty years....

In order to sustain its burden of proof in a Hobbs Act prosecution, the government must establish an impact on interstate commerce. United States v. Eaves, 877 F.2d 943 (11th Cir.1989).

The issues presented in this case are: (1) whether a prosecutor’s solicitation of…