United States v. Beltran-Leyva (Guzman Loera), No. 19-2239 (2d Cir. 2022)
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The Second Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment convicting defendant, known as "El Chapo," of conducting a continuing criminal enterprise (CCE), drug trafficking conspiracies, unlawful use of a firearm, and a money laundering conspiracy. Defendant is the former leader of a Mexican drug trafficking organization known as the Sinaloa Cartel.
The court concluded that because defendant lacks standing to challenge his trial on the basis of the extradition treaty, his specialty claim was properly rejected; defendant's Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights to present a defense and to have the effective assistance of counsel were not unconstitutionally restricted; defendant's motion to dismiss Violation 27, one of the offenses within the CCE offense charged in Count I, was properly denied; the district court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress; claims of evidentiary errors lacked merit; there was no per se conflict of interest regarding defendant's counsel; defendant was not deprived of a complete defense in violation of his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights; the jury instruction on unanimity was entirely correct; the district court did not exceed its discretion in denying defendant an evidentiary hearing or a new trial, and neither is warranted now; and the district court and the government did not engage in improper ex parte communications.
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