(Updated) NOT GUILTY x2: BIG DAY FOR THE FEDERAL DEFENDERS OFFICE

GUEST POST BY LAUREN KRASNOFF

Update: 

Following her not guilty verdict in Ruiz, AFPD MaeAnn waited patiently to celebrate with her boyfriend, Tim Driscoll, a state PD. But Tim couldn’t get there right away - he was waiting with APD Yanelis Zamora on their own verdict in front of Judge Richard Hersch. Tim and Yanelis’s client was found NOT GUILTY of the felony charges, but the double NG wasn’t enough for Mae and Tim - they got engaged! A true PD/NG love story!

Yesterday was a big day on the 11^th floor of the Wilkie D. Ferguson Courthouse, where the words NOT GUILTY were ringing loudly enough to hear in the attorney lounge (what, you forgot there was an attorney lounge?). The Office of the Federal Defender heard not one, but TWO federal juries find their clients NOT GUILTY.

In Judge Ruiz’s courtroom, AFPDs Ashley Kay and MaeAnn Dunker’s client, Ricardo Dos Anjos Gomes, was found not guilty of two counts of assault on a federal officer. Mr. Gomes was accused of biting two officers at the Crome Detention Center, where he was being held by ICE. The officers alleged that Mr. Gomes, upset about the conditions of confinement, bit the officers, causing them to “redirect” him to the ground (where they continued to “redirect” him, with nine other officers piling on). It turns out the jury agreed with Ashley and MaeAnn – that even those detained by ICE have a right to defend themselves from officers using excessive force.

In Judge Williams’s courtroom, AFPDs Victor Van Dyke and Ian McDonald’s client, Angelina Miguelina Hollis, was found not guilty of conspiracy to export a controlled substance and attempted exportation of a controlled substance. (Note: The controlled substance was marijuana, and yes, the dwindling USAO still has time to prosecute people for marijuana). Ms. Hollis’s alleged co-conspirator testified against her, but Victor and Ian were able to show not only that the cooperator perjured herself and lied during her debriefs, but also that Ms. Hollis was lied to, manipulated, and set up – and never had any intent to join the conspiracy.

I’m always proud to be a defender – but getting word of two not guilty verdicts in one day (from one office full of lawyers who aren’t being paid right now) is a great reminder about why we continue to do the work. I’m a strong believer that exercising the right to trial is the best leverage we have against the power of the United States government. In both of these cases, the government had it wrong. Ashley, MaeAnn, Victor, and Ian stood between their clients and the government – and told the government that if you want to take away our client’s liberty, you’ll have to get through us first.

What a great day for the Federal Defender’s Office. What a great day for justice. And what a great reminder to keep saying, “Ready for trial.”

#PDPride