Federal Pre-trial Motion Case Results
Featured: USA v OM
Counts
18 USC § 1028 Fraud and Conspiracy related to Identity Documents, 18 USC § 1001 Making Materially False Statements
Magistrate Judge
Thomas Smith
Sentencing Guidelines
Not applicable because the court granted our motion to dismiss before the case even got to the stage of being able to estimate losses necessary for sentencing guideline calculations.
Mandatory Minimum
None.
Case Result
Not Guilty Jury Verdict on All Counts. The United States Attorney’s Office filed a 22-page complaint alleging that our client participated in a conspiracy to produce fraudulent identification documents and commercial driver licenses (CDL). One federal magistrate judge signed off that the complaint contained probable cause. Attorney Bower Rodriguez was not deterred and insisted on conducting a preliminary examination on the complaint at which the federal agents would have to testify under oath. During the hearing the agent testified as to the two codefendants’ involvement, however, glaringly lacked any detail under cross-examination as to our client’s involvement and could not say under oath that our client was involved despite several documents with her purported “signature.” Immediately following the evidentiary portion of the hearing attorney Bower Rodriguez moved to dismiss the complaint based upon lack of probable cause. The judge immediately granted the motion and the case was dismissed. Our client was set free that very same day! Despite pressure to cooperate against her own husband and the threat of charges, our client remained silent and the government backed off and never returned an indictment.
“Dear Tim. I am writing to thank you for being my lawyer and helping to drop charges against me. I am thankful for all you have done for my family. Your deep interest in detail and skillful approach no doubt can be felt by your clients including me. Justice is important and a professional lawyer like you is crucial to keep things balanced and fair and many of us know the difference. I wish you and your family a long and prosperous life. Kind Regards, O. M.”
Additional Case Results
| USA v. OS | U.S. Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, Judge Antoon II and Magistrate Judge Spaulding |
| Charges: | Conspiracy to Distribute 150 Kilograms or More of Cocaine from Puerto Rico to Orlando, New York, and elsewhere |
| Case Result: | Motion to dismiss granted and case dismissed on the basis that the government violated the double jeopardy clause of the United States Constitution. The Court remarked that it had started with the opinion that it would decide the motion as soon as the hearing was over. After a two hour long evidentiary hearing conducted by attorney Tim Bower Rodriguez, the court indicated that the motion would be taken under advisement. Nearly three weeks later and in a lengthy written opinion, the Court granted the motion and dismissed the case. Other codefendants who did not file a motion to dismiss were sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. |
| USA v. ED | U.S. Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, Judge Covington and Magistrate Judge McCoun |
| Charges: | Conspiracy to Import Marijuana from Jamaica to United States |
| Case Result: | Motion to dismiss indictment granted and case dismissed. Our client, a British national, was wrongly accused of trying to import marijuana into the United States from Jamaica when in fact the conspiracy was to import marijuana from Jamaica into England. Dozens of secret recordings implicated our client in the distribution of thousands of pounds of marijuana, but the confidential informant claimed that our client agreed to import into the United States during a call that was, coincidentally of course, not recorded. Despite months of implicit pressure to plead guilty and threatened testimony from the snitch trying to falsely implicate our client, our law firm refused to bow down and insisted that the witness was lying to the government. Ultimately, the government agreed and the Court dismissed the charges. |
| USA v. HD | U.S. Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, Judge Conway and Magistrate Judge Kelly |
| Pre-trial Motion: | Second Motion for Bond / Pre-trial Release |
| Outcome: | Bond granted. A prior attorney filed a bond motion that was denied. Client hired attorney Tim Bower Rodriguez who filed a second bond motion after discovering that a mistake was made on the first bond motion. The Court held a second hearing on the motion and granted bond to our client. |
| USA v. RJ | U.S. Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, Judge Covington Hernandez, Magistrate Judge McCoun |
| Pre-trial Motion: | Motion to suppress evidence granted. Our client was originally charged with conspiracy to distribute over 5 kilograms of cocaine that required a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence. After winning the motion to suppress, the government reduced the charges to Use of a Cell Phone to Commit a Crime. Our client served approximately 2.5 years at a federal work camp where he was one of the facility’s town and airport drivers. |
NOTE: The above case results are a small sample of results obtained by attorney Tim Bower Rodriguez. Additional case results wherein our law firm obtained not guilty trial verdicts, appellate convictions and sentence reversals, sentence reductions, United States sentencing guidelines downward departures, downward variances pursuant to 18 USC 3553(a), are available upon request.
