( CNN ) -- John Yates believes when it comes to the power of the federal government , he is just a small fish caught up in a prosecution meant for corporations . And the Supreme Court thought enough of his appeal to hear the matter later this year . The justices agreed on Monday to take up the case in which prosecutors used a law typically applied to corporate records to convict Yates of getting rid of three illegally caught grouper . The question is whether the law against obstructing an investigation into business practices is too vague . It was passed in the aftermath of Enron and other big scandals of that kind . The actual legal language in dispute involves efforts to conceal , cover up , falsify , or make a false entry in any record , document , or tangible object . Yates , 61 , owns the Miss Katie , a commercial fishing vessel moored near Bradenton , Florida . It was operating off the Gulf of Mexico in 2007 when she was boarded by state officers working with the National Marine Fisheries Service . They discovered 72 undersized red grouper , and told Yates to leave the catch there , and head back to shore so agents could seize it . When the Miss Katie arrived at port days later , a government inspector counted only 69 fish that were below the 20-inch minimum harvesting size . Yates still claims the deputy originally miscounted the fish . Prosecutors alleged Yates had ordered his crew to throw the smaller fish overboard , and charged him with destruction of evidence to impede a federal investigation . A jury eventually convicted the Holmes Beach man and he spent 30 days in jail . The Justice Department said Yates does not dispute now that he `` directed the destruction or concealment of the fish '' but argues that the law used to prosecute him does not apply . Yates says the conviction has hurt him economically and wonders why the government was so insistent they `` have a pound flesh '' by prosecuting him for what he called a simple civil infraction . The justices will not retry the facts , but only will consider whether the law was properly applied . A number of legal and political advocacy groups have rallied to Yates ' cause , saying `` misuse '' of government discretion to use criminal law rather than civil law to handle a range of regulatory enforcement is hurting the justice system . `` Overreach by any branch of government steps on the rights of all Americans , whether on our country 's street corners or our nation 's boardrooms , '' said William Shepherd , representing the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers , which filed an amicus brief in the case . `` Overreach impacts real people . '' The case is Yates v. U.S. ( 13-7451 ) .
Florida fisherman convicted under law crafted for corporate prosecutions . The case of the man who was caught with a bag full of cocaine in his boat has been cited as an example of how to prosecute fishermen and others involved in illegal fishing. Prosecutors not backing down , but Supreme Court will decide if they went too far .