United States First Circuit

Convictions of captain and crew of a cargo vessel for possessing more than 1,800 kilograms of cocaine with the intent to distribute it, and for conspiracy, are affirmed over a host of alleged errors in the separate appeals of the nine defendants, including claims of insufficiency of the evidence, that the district court improperly denied requests for continuances and rushed them to trial, evidentiary errors, and errors in denying certain defendants the benefit of the "safety valve" provision of the Sentencing Reform Act.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/21/2007
• Published 11/21/2007

Judges

• LIPEZ, Circuit Judge., Before LIPEZ and NEWMAN, Circuit Judges, and SELYA, Senior Circuit Judge.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Lorenzo J. Palomares for appellant Rodríguez-Durán;  Luis M. Cháves Ghigliotty for appellant Cabello-Acuno;  Johnny Rivera González for appellant Morelis-Escalona;  David W. Roman and Brown & Ubarri on brief for appellant Minoungou;  Gary H. Montilla-Brogan and Aldarondo & Lopez-Bras, P.S.C. on brief for appellant Okley;  Jorge Luis Gerena-Méndez for appellant De La Rosa;  Michael R. Hasse for appellant González-Valero;  Luis A. Guzmán Dupont for appellant Padilla-Moreno;  Guillermo A. Macari-Grillo for appellant Almonte.


• For Appellees:
  
• Timothy R. Henwood, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney, and Nelson Pérez-Sosa, Assistant United States Attorney, were on brief, for appellee.