United States v. Mitchell-Hunter

STAHL, Circuit Judge.

Defendant-appellant Javier Mitchell-Hunter (Mitchell) was charged with drug crimes under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA), 46 U.S.C. §§ 70501-70508, after he was apprehended on a go-fast vessel in the Caribbean by a Coast Guard counter-narcotics patrol. Before the district court, Mitchell moved for dismissal based on lack of jurisdiction under the MDLEA, arguing that use of State Department certifications memorializing the inability of Colombia and Venezuela to confirm or refute the go-fast’s master’s claim of national registry, without an opportunity to…