The government has no obligation to turn over exculpatory evidence during an extradition proceeding, a Justice Department lawyer said in court today in arguing against having a “mini trial” about Mexico’s request to extradite alleged methamphetamine trafficker Zhenli Ye Gon.
A federal district judge in Washington dismissed with prejudice the trafficking conspiracy charge against Ye Gon in August. But the judge stopped short of ruling that prosecutors shirked obligations to turn over favorable evidence to the defense. Last year, Mexico lodged a request to extradite Ye Gon, who is wanted on charges of organized crime and drug violations. Ye Gon’s lawyers are fighting extradition.
Today, Magistrate Judge John Facciola of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia heard argument about whether the government has any obligation to turn over evidence that may undercut the strength of Mexico’s request that Ye Gon should be extradited to stand trial there. Extradition hearings traditionally do not allow the defense to put on evidence to negate probable cause.
Ye Gon’s lawyers, Manuel Retureta and A. Eduardo Balarezo, said the foundation of Mexico’s extradition request—an affidavit from a prosecutor in Mexico who resigned amid a corruption investigation—is suspect.
Additionally, the lawyers say the government should turn over evidence it has regarding three witnesses who recanted statements made during the criminal investigation of Ye Gon. Justice lawyers moved to dismiss the case in Washington in part due to evidentiary concerns. The government also said that Justice was moving to dismiss the case in favor of prosecution in Mexico.
A Justice lawyer, Valinda Jones of the department’s Office of International Affairs, said the government has tuned over to the defense every document that Mexico has transmitted to the United States. Prosecution obligations to turn over exculpatory material do not extend to extradition hearings, Jones said in court today.
Jones said the three witnesses whose statements were recanted did not form the substance of Mexico’s request to extradite Ye Gon. Any obligation to turn over favorable information to Ye Gon’s lawyers for use in the extradition proceeding would mean the United States is imposing its criminal law on the Mexico judicial system, Jones said. The Justice lawyer said the defense attorneys want to re-litigate the issues in the criminal case in the context of the extradition proceeding.
Ye Gon’s lawyers are asking for more time to investigate the resignation of Mexico Attorney General Medina Mora and the resignation of two supervisory prosecutors, including the prosecutor who resigned amid the corruption probe. The defense lawyers say Mora resigned under a “cloud of suspicion.” In recent months, Justice cited Mora in court papers in the criminal case, saying the Ye Gon case has the personal attention of the top-ranking prosecutors in Mexico.
Ye Gon has remained jailed since his arrest in July 2007 in Maryland. Facciola has not ruled on whether to release Ye Gon. And the judge did not immediately rule on whether Ye Gon’s lawyers will be entitled to receive additional information in order to put on a defense at the extradition proceeding.
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