Billion Dollar Coke Bust in Philly: Federal law enforcement agents seized over $1 billion in cocaine from a freighter in a Philadelphia marine terminal today. ABC News reports that 16.5 tons of the drug were discovered in shipping containers. This follows a March bust which seized $77 million of cocaine from a ship in New York. The Philadelphia bust is the largest in U.S. history. Officials believe that the resurgence of cocaine trafficking is the result of an end to the eradication of coca plants in Columbia, causing an overabundance of the drug.
CJLF Delivers Oral Argument in the 9th Circuit: CJLF Legal Director Kent Scheidegger presented oral argument before an en banc panel of the 9th Circuit today in the murder case of Ezzard Ellis v. C. Harrison. The case involves a murderer's claim that his defense attorney's racial prejudice, which he did not know about during trial, nonetheless invalidates his conviction. CJLF was invited to join the case after the California Attorney General declined to defend the conviction. Ellis was convicted on strong evidence of opening fire on a car in the drive-through line at a crowded MacDonalds, killing one man and injuring a passenger, in order to steal the car. The link to the oral argument is here.
Kent is going to win in Ellis. Either on procedural grounds or the merits. No Cronic or Strickland violation. But Judge Hurwitz threw the usually unflappable Kent for a little loop with his hypo. Overall great argument by Kent and Ellis' attorney. The DAG, however, was ill-prepared for the questions about flip-flopping and attempting to obtain an advisory opinion from the panel, instead of simply agreeing to grant Ellis' HC petition.