United States Ninth Circuit

Convictions of defendants under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act are reversed as to those who opted for trial where the district court erred in exercising jurisdiction over them without first requiring the government to allege in the indictment and prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt certain facts necessary to establish jurisdiction. Alternatively, even were jurisdiction established, the convictions would be reversed due to prosecutorial misconduct.

Appellate Information

• Argued 02/23/2004
• Decided 03/14/2006
• Published 03/14/2006

Judges

• PREGERSON, Circuit Judge., Before BETTY B. FLETCHER, HARRY PREGERSON, and MELVIN BRUNETTI, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Jeanne G. Knight (brief), Janice Deaton (brief & argued), Michael J. McCabe (brief & argued), John Lanahan (brief & argued), Michael J. Messina, Trost, Woods & Messina (brief), Beverly A. Barnett (brief), Ezekiel E. Cortez (brief), D. Chipman Venie (brief), Casey Donovan, (brief & argued) Donovan & Donovan, Lori B. Schoenberg (brief & argued), and Mark Fleming (argued), San Diego, CA, for the defendants-appellants., William V. Gallo (argued), Assistant United States Attorney;  Patrick K. O'Toole (argued), Assistant United States Attorney;  and Jay Alvarez (brief), Assistant United States Attorney, San Diego, CA, for the plaintiff-appellee.