A recent 5th Circuit decision, U.S. v. Posligua, 2025 WL 927324, No. 22-40393, (5th Cir. March 27, 2025), provides a nuanced look at whether judges must make a determination as to jurisdiction prior to taking certain actions (i.e. a change of plea) in MDLEA cases. Posligua, an Ecuadorian fisherman, was interdicted by the Coast Guard…
Category: MDLEA
Florida Court Rules that MDLEA Can Snare Drug Traffickers Who Never Set Sail
On 24 October 2024, Middle District of Florida’s Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle held that Congress may punish maritime drug trafficking conspirators even if they are never on the high seas in U.S. v. Montero-Monsavlo, No. 8:21-CR-377-KKM-AEP, 2024 WL 4534222 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 21, 2024). On 27 August 2019, CG LEDET aboard a Dutch vessel encountered…
Supreme Court Denies Davila-Reyes Defendants’ Petition
As we all know, the United States v. Dávila-Reyes, 84 F.4th 400 (1st Cir. 2023) case has drawn considerable attention due to its implications for jurisdictional issues involving the MDLEA. We previously posted that following the First Circuit’s decision, the defendants sought to certify two questions regarding jurisdiction under the MDLEA. Well, on 10 June 2024, the U.S….
District of Puerto Rico Addresses Jurisdiction for a Third Time in U.S. v. Thomas Chalwell
In April, we discussed the importance of checking case packages for accuracy to ensure they reflect what occurred during the boarding. Earlier this week, on 12 August 2024, District Judge María Antongiorgi-Jordán in the District of Puerto Rico addressed a similar issue in U.S. v. Thomas Chalwell, et al., No. CR 24-CR-00072, 2024 WL 3755034…
Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2024 Proposes Changes to MDLEA
The Coast Guard Authorization Act (CGAA) of 2024 brings several changes aimed at enhancing the MDLEA. The proposed changes by the 118th Congress are the following: Section 70503(a) of title 46, United States Code, is amended- (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking ‘While on board a covered vessel, an individual’ and inserting…
11th Circuit addresses MDLEA jurisdiction and district court’s evidentiary decisions
Here’s a recent (sort of) case from the 11th Circuit that addressed MDLEA jurisdiction and evidentiary decisions made by a district court in the Middle District of Florida. The case is United States v. Velez-Acosta, No. 22-13528, 2024 WL 806537 (11th Cir. Feb. 27, 2024) and serves as a reminder of the importance of accuracy…
Defendants in Dávila-Reyes petition for writ of certiorari to SCOTUS
Set your WestLaw and Lexus alerts, folks! On March 4, 2024, the defendants in the Dávila-Reyes case made a bold move by filing a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States. What’s at stake? The defendants want SCOTUS to answer the following: Question I: Does the United States’…
Navigating Oral Claims of Nationality in the First Circuit and the Importance of Corroborating Evidence
In one of the first decisions since the First Circuit issued its opinion in Dávila-Reyes, a District Court for the District of Puerto Rico denied multiple MDLEA defendants’ motions to dismiss in U.S. v. Puello-Morla, et al., 2023 WL 7185323 (D.P.R. November 1, 2023) (Arias-Marxuach). In their motions, defendants argued that because the vessel’s master…
11th Circuit confirms that a flag painted on the hull of a vessel is not “flying” the flag for the purpose of making a “claim of nationality or registry” under the MDLEA
Last March, we wrote an article about what it means to “fly” your nation’s flag under the MDLEA. The article, among other things, summarized the 11th Circuit’s decision in U.S. v. Obando, 891 F.3d 929 (11th Cir. 2018) and looked at how some of the other Circuits address the issue. In a recent decision by…
Changes to the Section 70502(d)(1) of the MDLEA pursuant to the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023
Apologies for the delay in sharing this update; I had a draft and never posted it. On December 23, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) under the official name Public Law No: 117-263. This Act is also known as the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization…