United States v. James Robert Trinidad

Trinidad was convicted of conspiracy to transport aliens illegally (Title 8, United States Code, Section 1324 (a)(2) and Title 18, United States Code, Section 371 ).

Defendant’s codefendants were charged in an original indictment with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and with transporting illegal aliens. Twenty-one of the twenty-three aliens that were caught were deported to Mexico, and the remaining two were retained as material witnesses. Trinidad was later included in the conspiracy count in a superseding indictment without having had an opportunity to interview the missing witnesses. He filed a pretrial motion to dismiss the indictment on the ground that the government’s deportation of material witnesses had violated his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights under the Mendez-Rodriguez doctrine. He appeals from the order denying his motion and his subsequent conviction of conspiracy.

The law of this Circuit is that the Defendant need not show that the missing witnesses would provide favorable testimony; it does require a showing that the testimony that the witnesses might have given could conceivably have benefited the Defendant. United States v. Martinez-Mo rales, 632.F.2d…