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Name: U.S. v. Hill
Case #: 00-30023
Opinion Date: 01/29/2002
Court: US Court of Appeals
District 9 Cir
Citation: 279 Fed.3d 731
Summary

Hill was convicted of harboring and being an accessory after the fact, for assisting her husband, who was avoiding the payment of more than $100,000 in past due child support. Hill, the second wife, purchased property in Mexico which her husband fled to, and transferred money to him. She also refused to divulge his whereabouts. On appeal, she argued that the harboring and accessory statutes are unconstitutional as they applied to her because they criminalize conduct she was entitled to engage in under the First and Fifth Amendments. The appellate court here found no merit in the argument. Harboring and accessory statutes reach only conduct which is intended to frustrate law enforcement. Since appellant’s conduct clearly was designed to aid her husband in evading apprehension, it was not merely normal spousal support and sharing of resources.