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Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff
(1) A person is guilty of intimidating a participant in the legal process when, by use of harassing communications as described in KRS 525.080, physical force, or a threat directed to a person he or she believes to be a participant in the legal process, he or she:
(a) Influences, or attempts to influence, the testimony, vote, decision, or opinion of that person;
(b) Induces, or attempts to induce, that person to avoid legal process summoning him or her to testify;
(c) Induces, or attempts to induce, that person to absent himself or herself from an official proceeding to which he has been legally summoned;
(d) Induces, or attempts to induce, that person to withhold a record, document, or other object from an official proceeding;
(e) Induces, or attempts to induce, that person to alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an object with intent to impair the object's integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding; or
(f) Hinders, delays, or prevents the communication to a law enforcement officer or judge of information relating to the possible commission of an offense or a violation of conditions of probation, parole or release pending judicial proceedings.
(2) For purposes of this section:
(a) An official proceeding need not be pending or about to be instituted at the time of the offense; and
(b) The testimony, record, document, or other object need not be admissible in evidence or free of a claim of privilege.
(3) Intimidating a participant in the legal process is a Class D felony.
(4) In order for a person to be convicted of a violation of this section, the act against a participant in the legal process or the immediate family of a participant in the legal process shall be related to the performance of a duty or role played by the participant in the legal process.
Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Kentucky Revised Statutes Title L. Kentucky Penal Code § 524.040.Intimidating a participant in the legal process - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ky/title-l-kentucky-penal-code/ky-rev-st-sect-524-040/
FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature before relying on it for your legal needs.
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