Author Archives: David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

¿Qué liberación compasiva?

Posted on March 7, 2013 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

Editorial publicado en el diario The New York Times el 8 de diciembre de 2012

Las leyes federales de sentencia han sido injustificablemente severas por una generación, pero teóricamente han contenidounadisposicióndesalvaguarda llamada la liberación compasiva. La ley de reforma de sentencia de 1984 dio a los tribunales federales el poder de reducir las condenas de presos federales por […]

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What Compassionate Release?

Posted on March 7, 2013 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

Published December 8, 2012 in

The New York Times

Federal sentencing law has been indefensibly harsh for a generation, but in theory it has contained a safety valve called compassionate release. The 1984 Sentencing Reform Act gives federal courts the power to reduce sentences of federal prisoners for “extraordinary and compelling reasons,” like a terminal illness.

In practice, […]

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Después de pasar años en confinamiento solitario, el presidente uruguayo vive en austeridad

Posted on March 7, 2013 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

Artículo publicado en el diario The New York Times el 4 de enero de 2013

Por Simon Romero

Montevideo, Uruguay — Algunos líderes del mundo viven en palacios. Algunos disfrutan beneficios tales como un mayordomo discreto, una

flota de yates o una bodega de vinos con champañas añejas. Él vive en una casa dilapidada en las afueras de Montevideo sin […]

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After Years in Solitary, an Austere Life as Uruguay’s President

Posted on March 7, 2013 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

Article published in The New York Times on January 4, 2013

By Simon Romero

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Some world leaders live in palaces. Some enjoy perks like having a discreet butler, a fleet of yachts or a wine cellar with vintage Champagnes. Then

there is José Mujica, the former guerrilla who is Uruguay’s president. He lives in a […]

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HSBC – ¿Demasiado grande para ser sancionado?

Posted on March 7, 2013 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

“El mes pasado, el banco HSBC admitió en documentos procesales que este había permitido a grandes carteles de droga mexicanos y colombianos lavar por lo menos $881 millones de dólares. . . Esas fueron algunas de las transgresiones descubiertas durante una investigación de dos años dirigida por los Departamentos de Justicia y del Tesoro y […]

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HSBC – Too big to be punished?

Posted on March 7, 2013 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

“Last month, HSBC admitted in court pleadings that it had allowed big Mexican and Colombian drug cartels to launder at least $881 million. . . . Those were some of the transgressions uncovered during a two-year investigation led by the Justice and Treasury Departments and acknowledged by HSBC in a settlement, known as a deferred […]

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Casos Recientes

Posted on March 7, 2013 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

La Fianza: vale la pena intentar

United States v. Briggs, No. 12-2988-Cr (2d Cir. 5 de octubre de 2012)

A Antonio Briggs se le imputó haber formado parte de una gran conspiración de drogas que involucró a múltiples acusados, recibió una orden de detención en septiembre de 2010 y permanece detenido hasta el día de hoy. En […]

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Recent Cases

Posted on March 7, 2013 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

Bail — better to have loved and lost

United States v. Briggs, No. 12-2988-Cr (2d Cir. October 5, 2012)

Antonio Briggs, charged in a large, multi-defendant drug conspiracy, was ordered detained in September of 2010, and remains in jail today. In this appeal, he claimed that this lengthy pretrial detention deprived him of due process.

The circuit, although […]

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Question from an Inmate’s Wife

Posted on March 5, 2013 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

Dr. Zapp, My husband is requested by the Southern District of New York for charges of conspiracy to launder money. The only evidence mentioned in the Indictment is phone conversations that took place in Colombia. My husband has never been to the United States. The wiretaps are illegal in Colombia because they were not obtained by […]

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Pregunta de la esposa de un preso

Posted on March 5, 2013 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

Dr. Zapp,

Mi esposo es solicitado por la Corte Distrito Sur de Nueva York por el cargo de conspiración para el lavado de activos. Los únicos argumentos que aparecen en la acusación formal son conversaciones telefónicas realizadas en Colombia. Mi esposo nunca ha estado en los Estados Unidos. Las interceptaciones carecen de legalidad en Colombia ya […]

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Every Man for Himself

Posted on October 26, 2012 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

By David Zapp

In 2009 a group of Colombians were arrested for extradition and were sent to Combita. The group held a meeting and they agreed that they would not discuss any pre-indictment criminal activity. But as soon as the group trickled up to the United States, one by one, the members of the group folded […]

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Prosecutors’ Overreaching Goes Unchecked

Posted on October 26, 2012 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

By Angela Davis

Angela J. Davis is a professor of law at American University. She is a former director of the D.C. Public Defender Service and the author of “Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor.”

Published in The New York Times on August 19, 2012

Prosecutors are the most powerful officials in the criminal justice system. […]

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Cada hombre para sí mismo

Posted on October 26, 2012 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

Por David Zapp

En el año 2009 un grupo de colombianos fueron detenidos para iniciar su extradición y fueron enviados a la prisión de Cómbita. El grupo celebró una reunión y acordaron que no hablarían de ninguna actividad delictiva antes de que un Gran Jurado aprobara una acusación formal. Pero tan pronto como el grupo comenzó […]

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Los excesos de los fiscales no se examinan

Posted on October 26, 2012 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

Por Ángela Davis

Ángela J. Davis es profesora de derecho en American University. Ella es la previa directora del Servicio de Abogados de Oficio del Distrito de Columbia y la autora de “Justicia Arbitraria: El Poder del Fiscal Norteamericano.”

Publicado en el diario The New York Times el 19 de agosto de 2012

Los fiscales son los funcionarios […]

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El derecho a apelar es cuestión de justicia

Posted on October 26, 2012 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

By Nancy Gerther

La autora, Nancy Gerther, previa jueza federal, es profesora de derecho en la Facultad de Derecho de Harvard.

Publicado en el diario The New York Times el 19 de agosto de 2012

Tal como el editorial del New York Times notó, aun en nuestra economía super-mercantil, algunas cosas no deberían ser negociables, pero lo son. […]

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The Right to Appeal Is an Issue of Fairness

Posted on October 26, 2012 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

By Nancy Gertner

Nancy Gertner, a former U.S. federal judge, is a law professor at Harvard Law School.

Published August 19, 2012

As The New York Times editorial noted, even in our uber-market economy, certain things should be beyond bargaining, but are not. You can waive your right to a trial by pleading guilty in exchange for concessions […]

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Tribunal otorga juicio nuevo, citando el testimonio falso de un detective en un caso previo.

Posted on October 26, 2012 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

Por Benjamin Weiser Publicado en el diario The New York

Times el 30 de agosto de 2012

Un tribunal federal de apelaciones en Manhattan dictaminó el jueves que un hombre convicto de posesión de armas debería haber tenido la oportunidad de decirle al jurado que el testigo principal en su contra, un detective de la Ciudad de […]

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Court Grants New Trial, Citing a Detective’s False Testimony in an Earlier Case

Posted on October 26, 2012 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

By Benjamin Weiser Published by The New York Times

on August 30, 2012

A federal appeals court in Manhattan ruled on Thursday that a man convicted of weapons possession should have been able to tell the jury that the main witness against him, a New York City police detective, had been found to have testified untruthfully in […]

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Que se limite el control de los cargos imputados y las condenas

Posted on October 26, 2012 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

Por Paul Cassell Publicado por el diario The New York

Times el 19 de agosto de 2012

Paul Cassell, previo fiscal federal y el juez federal de distrito, es profesor de derecho en la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Utah.

Bajo nuestro sistema constitucional, los fiscales siempre comandan un vasto poder, el cual es esencialmente carece […]

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Limit Control Over Charges and Sentencing

Posted on October 26, 2012 by David S. Zapp and Johanna S. Zapp

By Paul Cassell Published in The New York Times

on August 19, 2012

Paul Cassell, a former federal prosecutor and federal district court judge, is a professor of law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah.

Under our constitutional system, federal prosecutors will always wield vast power that is essentially unreviewable in court […]

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