Date- April 27th, 2023
Venue- US District Court of The Eastern District of New York
We as a class observed two cases that were in the beginning stages and were just starting to commence. The first of which we later learned was a drug trafficking case because of the involvement of the JFK airport being talked about and certain flight being discussed. While stepping into the court room we walked in on a JFK airport worker being examined and questioned by the prosecution. The employee was being asked basic questions about what certain pieces of papers meant and the meaning of certain words on those papers and I didn’t realize at the time that the attorneys were just building a base for the later steps of the case to refer on. The second case we observed was a murder case right across the hall and we had a clear view of the defendant who is a somewhat famous drill rapper. During the case the Prosecution was questioning the defendant who spoke about his involvement in the case. The Prosecution also was bringing up documents and a music video that he asked to be put into evidence. What I learned from this court observation was how tedious it can be to build the groundwork for a case, especially when it comes to asking basic questions to refer to.
LAW1101 Intro SP2023
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Our court observation was surely an attention-grabbing experience for me. Notwithstanding my profound interest in Law, I’ve had little to no prior court visits. So, not only to visit, but to step foot inside this county’s federal trial court- United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York was rewarding. After doing some research I learnt that the E.D.N.Y its self’s home is in Theodore Roosevelt Courthouse with another location being in Islip. Differing in this location is its name as well- Alfonse M. D’Amato U.S Courthouse. One more bit of information I discovered was the court having special officers like a U.S. Attorney who is Breon Peace and clearer was the U.S. Marshal: Vincent F. DeMarco.
The first case we got to sit in on was the USA v. Belloisi case (first witness testimony about JFK Airport entry and exit records). A general overview on the case is about the defendant: Paul Belliosi being charged by indictment with conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, conspiracy to import cocaine and importation of cocaine all under different violations of the 21 U.S.C. (United States Code). What we got to see in our short time there was one of the witnesses, John Moloney from the Department of Homeland Security Investigations whom the court found credible. One of their duties in their job was to target aircrafts and to look for narcotics or other contraband and they found ten bricks of cocaine under an insulation blanket in the avionics compartment of an American Airlines aircraft. The special force created a decoy for the defendant to be caught lying about his actions and they had the help of the pilot to confirm as well as surveillance. So, reverting to what we saw; was the prosecution team examining the witness of the events that transpired while defendant tried smuggling the items on the job site. Things like his timecard being swiped at a widespread number of matching times to enter various checkpoints of the airport. Secondly, we observed the USA vs. Acevedo (second, witness testimony in a murder trial). Furthermore, Acevedo is affixed to life imprisonment for murder in-aid-of racketeering. Acevedo led a Queens based gang known as “Wood City”. One of his associates (within the gang) had his chain taken by a member of their rival gang- “Snow Gang.” Being there leader, the defendant was expected to rebel since possessing a chain was a huge part of your image- as told by the witness we saw testify. In those efforts, Acevedo and company tracked down a vehicle that was driven by one of Snow Gang’s members. There in front of a deli where their rivals are typically located, Acevedo fired a dozen shots, killing the driver, David Hutchinson. I couldn’t have imagined it being any easier for the witness as well who “told” as we saw by his demeanor during his time on the stand. Especially with the involvement of his cousin that was asked by the state’s counsel.
Between gaining insight into these two cases and seeing how they too shape in court made me fond of my court observation.