Sotomayor, J., dissenting
Under the series-qualifier canon, that phrase is best read to modify all listed verbs, especially because the definition lists each action as an example of “the crime or act of willfully interfering with the process of justice and law.” See Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U. S. ___, ___ (2021) (slip op., at 5) (“[W]hen there is a straightforward, parallel construction that involves all nouns or verbs in a series, a modifier at the end of the list normally applies to the entire series” (internal quotation marks omitted)). Thus, far from favoring the majority’s view, the definition most naturally supports the conclusion that interference with a pending investigation or proceeding is an element of generic obstruction of justice.
The other dictionary definitions upon which the Court relies similarly indicate the need for a pending investigation or proceeding. The majority notes that Black’s Law Dictionary defines obstruction of justice to cover “ ‘obstructing the administration of justice in any way,’ ” ante, at 4, but overlooks the fact that “administration of justice,” both historically and currently, refers to court proceedings. See, e.g., 1 J. Kent, Commentaries on American Law *290 (“[T]he judiciary power is intrusted with the administration of justice”); Black’s Law Dictionary 53 (10th ed. 2014) (defining “due administration of justice” as “[t]he proper functioning and integrity of a court or other tribunal and the proceedings before it”). Similarly, the full definition from A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage mentions “interference with the orderly administration of law.” B. Garner, p. 611 (2d ed. 1995). The cited definitions thus all weigh against the majority’s sweeping view, and in favor of the view that obstruction of justice “can only arise when justice is being administered.” Pettibone, 148 U. S., at 207.
2
The federal offenses listed in chapter 73 of Title 18, which is entitled “Obstruction of Justice,” provide further support
