United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Gustavo BARBOSA-RODRÍGUEZ [1], Eduardo Peterson-Manuel [3], José E. Serrano [5], Defendants. Criminal No. 17-577 (FAB) Signed June 28, 2023 OPINION AND ORDER BESOSA, District Judge. *1 Defendants José E. Serrano (“Serrano”), Eduardo Peterson-Manuel (“Peterson”), and Gustavo Barbosa-Rodríguez (“Barbosa”) [collectively, “the defendants”] move…
Author: Sean Gajewski
Attorney
Defendants Liable under MDLEA for Acts of Co-Conspirators Committed on High Seas When Foreign State Consents to Jurisdiction
If you’re a self-proclaimed MDLEA enthusiast—and I’m assuming you are, given your interest in this blog—then you’ll appreciate Judge Besosa’s recent decision in U.S. v. Barbosa-Rodriguez, — F.Supp.3d —-, 2023 WL 4230143 (D.P.R. June 28, 2023) where he concludes that Congress did not exceed its authority in enacting the MDLEA and denies defendants’ motion to…
U.S. v. Mariani-Romero, et al., No. 22-313 (FAB), 2022 WL 20184569 (D.P.R. June 22, 2023)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. JAINANT JOSUÉ MARIANI-ROMERO, et al., Defendants. Criminal No. 22-313 (FAB) June 22, 2023 MEMORANDUM AND ORDER FRANCISCO A. BESOSA SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE *1 Before the Court is defendant Jainant Josué Mariani-Romero (“Mariani”)’s motion to dismiss. The motion was joined by defendants José Alejandro Martínez-Peralta (Martínez) and Ariel…
Puerto Rico District Court Rules the Term “High Seas” Includes the EEZ of the Dominican Republic
Lately, there has been a recurring argument presented by defendants involved in MDLEA prosecutions. In short, the argument asserts that foreign states have exclusive jurisdiction over criminal activity in their exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and thus, U.S. courts lack jurisdiction to hear cases where the criminal conduct—i.e. the MDLEA violation—occurred in that foreign state’s EEZ….
U.S. v. Iona-Dejesus, No. 22-20473-CR, 2023 WL 3980082 (S.D. Fla. May 4, 2023)
MDLEA Blog Note: Magistrate Judge Torres’s report and recommendation was adopted by District Court Judge Gayles in its entirety on 13 June 2023. The full citation is, U.S. v. Iona-Dejesus, No. 22-20473-CR, 2023 WL 3980082 (S.D. Fla. May 4, 2023), report and recommendation adopted sub nom. U.S. v. Iona-Dejesus, et al., No. 22-20473-CR, 2023 WL 3971129 (S.D….
U.S. Government Did Not Violate Fed. R. Crim. P. Rule 5 Even Where Defendants Spent Ten Days at Sea on Three Different Ships
On 13 June 2023, we looked at a Southern District of Florida case where Magistrate Judge Torres decided that the U.S. Government violated Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 5(a)(1)(B) for an “unnecessary” 11-day delay in presenting defendants to a magistrate judge following a MDLEA interdiction by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). Well, just over a…
U.S. v. Henriquez, et al., No. 22-20161-CR, 2023 WL 3819797 (S.D. Fla. June 5, 2023)
MDLEA Blog Note: Magistrate Judge Torres’s decision was adopted by District Court Judge Gayles on 5 June 2023. The full citation is, United States v. Henriquez, No. 22-20161-CR, 2023 WL 3819797, at *1 (S.D. Fla. Apr. 24, 2023), report and recommendation adopted, No. 22-20161-CR, 2023 WL 3816698 (S.D. Fla. June 5, 2023). 2023 WL 3819797…
Florida Court Rules that 11-Day Delay Before Presenting Defendants to Magistrate Judge was Unnecessary and Violates Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 5
This case pertains to a matter that has previously garnered media attention in “The Coast Guard’s ‘Floating Guantánamos’”. If you haven’t read that article, I highly suggest you head over to the New York Times’ website and do so before coming back to finish this post. In general, “Floating Guantánamos” and the decision, U.S. v….
U.S. v. Menas Asprilla, et al., No. 22-20013-CR, 2023 WL 3496459 (S.D. Fla. May 17, 2023)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. ELIEZER MENAS ASPRILLA, Register No. 02671-506, JULIO CESAR RAMIREZ MOTA, Register No. 02665-506, HENNY MANUEL CASTRO RAMIREZ, Register No. 02669-506, and DANNY ALEXANDER CARRERA-BERNABE, Register No. 02661-506, Defendants. CASE NO: 22-20013-CR-ALTMAN 05/17/2023 ROY K. ALTMAN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE ORDER *1 After an hours-long evidentiary hearing—the first of two—we dismissed…
Southern District of Florida rules government failed to establish subject-matter jurisdiction by not asking the right questions during interdiction
Here is a holding you don’t see every day. In a rare and lengthy (20+ pages) ruling, U.S. v. Menas Asprilla, et al., No. 22-20013-CR, 2023 WL 3496459 (S.D. Fla. May 17, 2023), a district court in the Southern District of Florida dismissed an indictment due to the Government’s failure to establish subject-matter jurisdiction. The…