United States v. Mosquera-Murillo

Defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, the drugs on board the Mistby, in violation of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA) and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act. The DC Circuit held that the district court had subject-matter jurisdiction over defendants' prosecutions, because Colombia's waiver of objection to U.S. jurisdiction over the Mistby covered defendants' MDLEA prosecutions. However, defendants' offenses were covered by the safety valve provision of 18 U.S.C. 3553(f), which exempts covered offenses from mandatory-minimum sentences such as the 10 year sentences imposed against defendants. Accordingly, the court vacated defendants' sentences and remanded for resentencing. View "United States v. Mosquera-Murillo" on Justia Law