U.S. v. Batista, 82-5023
| Decision Date | 07 May 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 82-5023,82-5023 |
| Citation | 731 F.2d 765 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Juan BATISTA, Algimiro Abalo, Alberto Figueroa and Juan Corina-Villa, Defendants-Appellants. Non-Argument Calendar. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
Thomas G. Murray, Miami, Fla., for Batista.
Paul Morris, Miami, Fla., for Abalo, Figueroa & Corina-Villa.
Stanley Marcus, U.S. Atty., Bruce A. Zimet, Richard Harris, Linda Collins Hertz, Asst. U.S. Attys., Miami, Fla., for plaintiff-appellee.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Before HATCHETT, ANDERSON and CLARK, Circuit Judges.
Appellants Juan Batista, Algimiro Abalo, Alberto Figueroa and Juan Corina-Villa were charged in a two-count indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 955a, and possession with intent to distribute 20,000 pounds of marijuana, 21 U.S.C. Sec. 955a(a) and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2. The men were apprehended when the U.S. Coast Guard boarded their vessel, PILOT II, on March 16, 1981 and discovered its cargo of marijuana. All defendants were subsequently convicted in a non-jury trial. Two issues have been raised on appeal. All appellants contend that the district court erred in denying their motion to suppress evidence taken from the search of the PILOT II since the Coast Guard was without authority under 14 U.S.C. Sec. 89(a) or 21 U.S.C. Sec. 955a(a) to stop and search the vessel. Abalo, Figueroa and Corina-Villa also contend that there was insufficient evidence to support their convictions. Finding both claims to be without merit, we affirm the convictions.
Appellants contend that the Coast Guard was without authority to board and search the PILOT II because at the time the vessel was stopped there was no reason to believe that it was subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. At the time of the "stop and inquiry," the appellants claim the only thing that the officers knew about the vessel was that it was flying a Bahamian merchant flag, that it was fourteen miles from the Bahamas and that its running lights did not comply with Coast Guard regulations. Appellants' argument rests, therefore, on a claim that the PILOT II was a foreign vessel and therefore subject to jurisdiction only if the United States demonstrated a sufficient nexus with the vessel. United States v. Marino-Garcia, 679 F.2d 1373, 1380-82 (11th Cir.1982).
In reaching this conclusion, appellants conveniently ignore the findings of fact made by the district court. The court found that the PILOT II was a stateless vessel and thereby subject to U.S. jurisdiction. The trial court made this determination after taking evidence about the boarding of the boat and hearing a tape recording of a pre-boarding conversation held between the captain of the PILOT II and a Coast Guard officer. The evidence shows that while steaming in the area off the northwest coast of Cuba and south of the Bahamas, the Coast Guard vessel DAUNTLESS approached and intercepted two vessels sailing on parallel courses. The boats split and went in different directions and the DAUNTLESS followed the PILOT II. When they were at a distance of 50 to 150 feet from the PILOT II, a Coast Guard officer used a loudhailer to contact the vessel. Although the distance made the communication difficult, enough of the conversation came through for the district court to determine that the captain of the vessel was questioned in English about the nationality of the vessel and the crew and that he responded by saying that the boat was from Miami and that the crew members were U.S. citizens. The same Coast Guard officer had already noted that the vessel flew a Bahamian flag, but he believed it to be a courtesy flag since he had seen the boat leave Bahamian waters and the flag was not displayed in the way Bahamian vessels traditionally display their flags. The boat also had no markings to indicate a nationality. The Coast Guard officers made the decision to board the PILOT II because, as the district court found, it was apparently a U.S. vessel with Americans on board and because they had observed two lighting infractions on the vessel.
The Coast Guard has the authority to board any vessel of the American flag. 14 U.S.C. Sec. 89(a). This authority extends beyond the twelve-mile limit and need not be founded on any particularized suspicion. United States v. Ricardo, 619 F.2d 1124, 1129 (5th Cir.1980). In United States v. Cortes, this court determined that Sec. 89(a) gives the Coast Guard authority to search and seize any vessel on the high seas that is subject to the jurisdiction, or to the operation of any law, of the United States. 588 F.2d 106, 108-09 (5th Cir.1979). In its findings of fact, the district court pointed to evidence that...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
US v. Juda, CR-91-0324-CAL.
...the constitution in a prosecution by the United States. Decisions of other circuits have noted that distinction. In United States v. Batista, 731 F.2d 765 (11th Cir.1984), the Eleventh Circuit stated that there need not be a nexus between a stateless vessel and the country seeking to exerci......
-
US v. Barrio Hernandez, Crim. No. 86-578(PG).
...Jurisdiction exists solely as a consequence of the vessel's status as stateless pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 955a. United States v. Batista, 731 F.2d 765 (11th Cir.1984); United States v. Marino-Barcia, 679 F.2d 1373 (11th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1114, 103 S.Ct. 748, 74 L.Ed.2d 967 (19......
-
U.S. v. Gonzalez, 86-7155
...authority of two or more states, and uses them according to convenience ... will be deemed a stateless vessel." United States v. Batista, 731 F.2d 765, 767 (11th Cir.1984). Similarly, a vessel that falsely claims a nationality is deemed to be a stateless vessel. See United States v. Alvarez......
-
U.S. v. Passos-Paternina
...cert. denied sub nom. Pauth Arzuza v. United States, 459 U.S. 1114, 103 S.Ct. 748, 74 L.Ed.2d 967 (1983); United States v. Batista, 731 F.2d 765, 767 (11th Cir.1984) ("A vessel which sails under the authority of two or more states, and uses them according to convenience, such as in this cas......