United States v. Heriberto Gonzalo Beltran

Beltran appeals his conviction for conspiracy to possess 717 pounds of cocaine with intent to distribute. His brief describes his case very succinctly: “The defendants requested that the Court help them secure the attendance and testimony of a known witness with whom the government had contact, and the Court refused to do so.” The brief continues that the district court’s refusal violated the appellant’s “Sixth Amendment right to the compulsory process of the court, made illusory the Sixth Amendment right to confront and cross-examine an essential percipient witness, and resulted in a deprivation of a fair trial as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.” The potential witness at issue was a government informer known as “Mr. Milan.” Prior to trial, Beltran had moved unsuccessfully for disclosure of Milan’s true identity. During trial, Beltran moved for an order that would have required the government to accept a subpoena for Milan. The district court denied both motions and Beltran appeals. The district court had jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3231 . We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review a trial court’s decision concerning whether…