Category Archives/Archivos de la categoría: Articles

About seventeen months ago, a Colombian defendant, instead of waiting to be extradited to the United States, surrendered to federal authorities. The defendant, however, was not coming to the United States to plead guilty to narco-trafficking charges as the government … Continue reading →

A Federal judge in Manhattan refused on Tuesday to dismiss charges against a defendant whose lawyer had argued that his client’s extradition from a Far East country was a result of improper political pressure brought to bear on the little … Continue reading →

Written by  Hannah Stone | Wednesday, 10 August 2011 Extradition to stand trial in the U.S., long the biggest fear of Colombian drug traffickers, could now be a softer option, offering shorter jail terms and even impunity to criminals. The first … Continue reading →

The Strauss Kahn rape case in New York City is very instructive for defendants who think they can make up a story and get away with it. A chambermaid in a New York hotel accused Strauss-Kahn, the head of the … Continue reading →

Anyone still not convinced that a defendant can get a fair jury trial in the United States? Defendant Casey Anthony’s baby was found brutally dead, duct tape over her face, the stench of her corpse in the trunk of her … Continue reading →

Question: How can Rule 20 be applied? What are the steps to follow and what would you recommend? Answer: Rule 20 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure allows a defendant to have his or her case transferred from the … Continue reading →

Question: A lot of letters are sent to Combita from Colombian inmates in the United States, who say that they feel that their human dignity is violated; that is, they feel like they are “objects” to the prosecutors and agents … Continue reading →

Question: I heard you had a case where you were able to convince the district court to deny the government’s request for a two-level enhancement based on laundered funds allegedly derived from drug trafficking.  If it was a reported case, could you send … Continue reading →

The following interview is useful for individuals accused of importing drugs into the United States.  In every jurisdiction the federal law is the same: the defendant must be proven, directly or circumstantially, to actually have known that the drugs in … Continue reading →

You’re a defendant in a U.S. jail charged with drug trafficking. You want to cooperate, so your lawyer contacts the prosecutor and sets up a meeting.  The appointed day arrives and you are brought to the courthouse and placed in … Continue reading →

Two days before the jury at the embassy bombing trial of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani would reach a verdict, it seemed to be on the verge of a deadlock. A juror sent a note to the judge on Monday asking to … Continue reading →

Question: Someone who went to the United States told me about a case titled USA v. Smith where the codefendants received a six month reduction in their sentence due to immigration. The defendants are from Colombia, and they are now … Continue reading →

To be prosecuted for a crime in the United States, the crime must have occurred in the United States or had an impact on the United States.  If there is no evidence to support those claims, then the crime cannot … Continue reading →

PRISON crowding has reached crisis proportions: the legacy of the war on drugs and long, mandatory sentences. The federal government can take one important step to help states comply: deport many immigrant criminals before they enter prison, not after. Non-citizen … Continue reading →

I was appalled to hear that defense attorneys have been consenting to sixty-day adjournments, at the government’s request, before an indictment against a defendant is filed.  If the defendant is cooperating, then the adjournment is justified.  But what advantage does … Continue reading →

The exclusionary rule was a judge made rule that excluded evidence from being presented at trial where the evidence was seized or otherwise obtained in an illegal manner. The evidence might be drugs seized from an apartment without a warrant … Continue reading →

“Discovery” is the evidence the government has collected to use against a defendant. It is governed by Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and says in substance, “Upon a defendant’s request, the government must disclose [his or … Continue reading →

In another second circuit case, on October 19, 2010, the court departed from its usual practice of deferring “ineffective assistance” of counsel claims until after the defendant exhausted his direct appeals. The rationale for the practice is well founded. Generally … Continue reading →

In USA v. Jaime Enrique Romero-Padilla, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals adopted the District of Columbia’s appellate court ruling that importation offenses require proof of actual knowledge by the defendant where the government does not prove intent. The law … Continue reading →

United States v. Hassan is a drug conspiracy case that addresses a frequent argument. Can defendants be convicted without knowledge of the type of controlled substances they are accused of conspiring to possess or distribute? Yes. In an amended opinion, … Continue reading →