Tag Archives: Fifth Amendment

Foreign Defendants Have No Due Process Right to Personally Attend a Civil Forfeiture Hearing, Holds Eleventh Circuit

In USA v. Approximately $281,110.00, No. 20-11107 (11th Cir. Oct. 13, 2021), the Eleventh Circuit affirms a civil forfeiture verdict where the jury rejected an innocent-owner defense for Chinese nationals who were barred from entering the country for trial. “The main issue on appeal is whether foreign nationals have a constitutional right to enter theContinue reading “Foreign Defendants Have No Due Process Right to Personally Attend a Civil Forfeiture Hearing, Holds Eleventh Circuit”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Who Told Jury That Reasonable Doubt Is the Confidence of “Having a Meal” Without Getting “Sick” Earns the Defendant a New Trial, Holds Ninth Circuit

In United States v. Velazquez, No. 19-50099 (9th Cir. June 22, 2021), a 2-1 panel orders a new trial for a defendant where “the prosecutor trivialized” the reasonable-doubt standard during closing argument, comparing it to “something that you use every single day in your life” such as “having a meal … firmly convinced that theContinue reading “Assistant U.S. Attorney Who Told Jury That Reasonable Doubt Is the Confidence of “Having a Meal” Without Getting “Sick” Earns the Defendant a New Trial, Holds Ninth Circuit”