Is there an enterprising lawyer willing undertake a huge project? Buried in federal case files is the secret history of Mexican drug cartels. US prosecutors have sealed what looks like thousands & thousands of pages of court documents related to prosecutions of cartel operatives.
Many of the defendants are already serving time in prison and it's unclear why the voluminous documents in their cases remain secret.
Some of the cases are so secret they no longer even appear on Pacer--there's literally no trace of them.
It also appears that there has never been an effort to unseal these cases. Generally motions or letters seeking unsealing from parties not directly involved are placed on the docket. There is no evidence anyone has even attempted this in numerous cases related to Mexican DTOs.
In other words, no one has ever challenged the secrecy that US prosecutors have employed to hide from the public the most basic legal instruments they used to obtain guilty pleas, cooperation agreements and prison sentences from and against many many cartel members.
Since the trial of El Chapo I've been focusing on defendants in his orbit. But I'm not a lawyer and don't have the skills to ask a judge to unseal the documents in these cases.
But perhaps someone else does and would be willing to try.
Here is a shortlist of the cases.
But perhaps someone else does and would be willing to try.
Here is a shortlist of the cases.
Ivan Velasquez-Caballero
Victor Emilio Cazares-Gastelum
Juan Carlos Nava Valencia
Oscar Nava Valencia
Miguel Angel Carranza
Mario Nunez-Meza
Javier Calle Serna
Gabriel Cardona Ramirez
Victor Emilio Cazares-Gastelum
Juan Carlos Nava Valencia
Oscar Nava Valencia
Miguel Angel Carranza
Mario Nunez-Meza
Javier Calle Serna
Gabriel Cardona Ramirez
That list does not include the major trial witnesses:
Damaso Lopez Nunez
Damaso Lopez Serrano
Vicente Zambada Niebla
Cesar Gastelum (on the witness list but not called)
Andrea Velez Fernandez (ditto)
Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez
Etc.
Damaso Lopez Nunez
Damaso Lopez Serrano
Vicente Zambada Niebla
Cesar Gastelum (on the witness list but not called)
Andrea Velez Fernandez (ditto)
Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez
Etc.
Nor does that list include many, many other defendants who were prosecuted for their connections to cartels other than Sinaloa. The list is immense. The amount of information that remains under seal is astonishing.
For lawyers: It seems the simplest place to start would be the sentencing memos for defendants who are already serving prison time. How is it possible, lawyers, that the legal document used to obtain a prison term against someone remains sealed even after they are behind bars?
