United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) allows a state to extend their coastal state authority beyond its territorial seas in limited circumstances. Article 111, which allows for the right of hot pursuit, is one of those situations, and the right of hot pursuit is an exception to the general rule that a…
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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. 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…