Category Archives/Archivos de la categoría: Articles

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 country by the United States.

But the law is clear: unless a U.S. government agent points […]

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 treaty governing extradition of Colombians […]

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 World Bank, of raping her. The maid came up with a story and believed that […]

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 mother’s car, her mother not reporting her baby missing for a month and partying to […]

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 district where the case is pending to the district where the defendant is physically located so […]

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 in their case.  Is this true?

Answer: This is not true. Agents and prosecutors may be […]

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 me the citation or any other cites you used? I would appreciate it.

Answer: It was […]

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 question were going to the United States.  It is not enough to assume that everyone […]

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 the marshal’s pens.  The agents involved in your case come to get you and take […]

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 be excused. Her decision, she wrote, was “not going to change” and she was being attacked […]

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 in Washington, D.C. My husband would like to know whether you’ve heard about that case […]