US v. Lopez: In 2007 two men robbed a brothel in Maryland, during which a woman was raped and another man stabbed to death. The crime went unsolved until 2012, when DNA testing of a knife sheath left at the crime scene was matched to Lopez. A year later he was indicted for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and a substantive Hobbs Act charge. Lopez was only 17 years old at the time of the offense, but 24 by the time of trial. His co-conspirator pleaded guilty to the conspiracy, but Lopez went to trial. He was convicted on both counts and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Lopez's conviction and sentence. Lopez's arguments on appeal focused mainly in the delay between the commission of the offense and the indictment. First, he argued that because the offense occurred when he was only 17 years old he could not have been tried as an adult. Specifically, he argued that the defining "juvenile" to exclude those who were charged after they turned 21 (where the offense occurred before) violated the Constitution. The Fourth Circuit disagreed, holding that the designation of someone as a juvenile is not about culpability at a particular age, but about assuring that minors are placed into a system that is specially designed to handle their needs. It is thus "entirely rational" to exclude from that definition those who are charged after they turn 21. Second, Lopez argued that the Hobbs Act charge was outside the 5-year statute of limitations, even taking into account the late discovery of the DNA. He argued that he was "implicated" (the point at which the limitations period restarts) in 2008 when his DNA was first put into the database, not in 2012 when the match occurred. The court disagreed, holding that someone is implicated by DNA only once there is a match. Finally, Lopez argued that the delay in his prosecution violated his right to due process. The court disagreed, noting that he could not show any prejudice from the delay.
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