## Facts

- Ronald Collis previously pleaded guilty to federal embezzlement and was sentenced to a term including supervised release.
- While on supervised release, Collis began embezzling from a new employer and pleaded guilty in state court to attempted embezzlement.
- Collis’s probation officer filed a petition alleging supervised-release violations, including committing a new offense and leaving the district without permission.
- At the federal revocation proceeding, the court found both violations and then proceeded to the sentencing phase.
- Collis provided his lawyer with three letters to submit to the judge; one was a forged letter on his employer’s letterhead, appearing to be signed by the employer’s owner, supporting leniency.
- The judge questioned the letter’s authenticity and directed an investigation; the purported signer denied authoring it.
- In an FBI interview, Collis initially denied forging the letter but later admitted he created it and gave it to counsel for use in court.
- A jury convicted Collis of obstruction of justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1503 based on submitting the forged letter, and acquitted him of making a false statement under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.
- At sentencing, the district court applied U.S.S.G. § 2J1.2 and enhanced under § 2J1.2(b)(2) for substantial interference with the administration of justice.

## Issues

1. Whether a forged letter submitted to influence the court supports a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1503 absent proof it actually affected the sentencing decision.
2. Whether attorney–client privilege barred the defendant’s counsel from testifying about receiving and submitting the forged letter.
3. Whether the district court properly applied U.S.S.G. § 2J1.2(b)(2) for “substantial interference with the administration of justice.”

## Decision

- The Sixth Circuit affirmed the obstruction-of-justice conviction.
- The court held the government need not prove the forged letter actually influenced the judge; an “endeavor” to obstruct suffices under § 1503 when directed at a pending judicial proceeding.
- The court affirmed admission of defense counsel’s testimony because the communications and transmission of the forged letter fell within the crime-fraud exception to attorney–client privilege.
- The court affirmed the § 2J1.2(b)(2) enhancement because the forged letter prompted substantial, unnecessary expenditure of investigative and prosecutorial resources.

## Legal Principles

- Under 18 U.S.C. § 1503, the government may prove obstruction by showing a corrupt “endeavor” to influence, obstruct, or impede the due administration of justice; success is not required.
- Submitting a forged document for use in court, intending it to be treated as genuine and to affect sentencing, can satisfy § 1503’s nexus and intent requirements even if the court is not misled.
- Attorney–client privilege does not protect communications or materials used to further a crime or fraud; counsel may testify about such communications under the crime-fraud exception.
- U.S.S.G. § 2J1.2(b)(2) applies when obstruction results in substantial interference with the administration of justice, including significant unnecessary expenditure of governmental or court resources.

## Conclusion

The Sixth Circuit upheld Collis’s obstruction conviction and sentence, ruling that § 1503 reaches attempts to influence a court through a forged submission, that privilege does not shield attorney communications used to effect that misconduct, and that a sentencing enhancement is warranted when the conduct triggers substantial waste of justice-system resources.


United States v. Collis, 128 F.3d 313 (6th Cir. 1997)