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W.D. Tex.: Request to Spain to search under MLAT did not make U.S. a joint venturer

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The U.S. used the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between the U.S. and Spain in seeking to have Spain conduct a search under its law there. Spain took possession of the evidence. A year later, the evidence was reviewed by U.S. officials and resulted in charges in federal court in Texas. The U.S. officials were not sufficient instigators of the search in Spain to have participated in it. United States v. Adler, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32583 (W.D. Tex. March 5, 2009): Adler's case is distinguishable from Hawkins, Heller, Morrow, and Birdsell, in which American authorities merely informed foreign officials of potentially criminal activity that the foreign officials then chose to pursue. Adler points out that the American MLAT request detailed specific evidence to be seized by Spanish authorities and also directed them where to search, why such evidence was desired, and how to handle the evidence...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 23, 2009 (boomark / email).