Mafnas elevates complaint to 9th Circuit
Former police officer Eric John Tudela Mafnas has brought complaint of inhumane treatment at the Guam Department of Corrections to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mafnas, through counsel Howard Trapp, appealed to the Ninth Circuit the ruling of U.S. District Court for the NMI chief judge Alex R. Munson denying his motion to dismiss the indictment.
Trapp said the ground on which the motion was made was that Mafnas has already been punished for the offenses charged.
“[And] for that reason, a punishment of Mafnas other than and in addition to the punishment which he has already received is barred as it would be violative of the double jeopardy guarantee of the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” the lawyer asserted.
Trapp said Munson ruled that “defendants [Mafnas and Charley K. Patris] were unable to supply to the court any authority whatsoever that a permissible post-conviction, pre-sentencing remedy for alleged constitutional violations is dismissal of the indictment against them.”
Trapp said this does not mean, however, that Mafnas’ claim is not colorable.
Colorable refers to an appearance that does not correspond with reality, or an appearance intended to conceal or to deceive.
“A claim is colorable if it has some possible validity. A claim is not at least colorable when it presents a question of first impression,” Trapp said.
“Inasmuch as the appeal is from the denial of a double jeopardy motion, and because Mafnas’ claim is at least colorable, the filing of the notice of appeal divests this court of jurisdiction,” the lawyer added.
In August 2005, the federal jury found Mafnas guilty on the charges of conspiracy to commit theft, false statements and perjury; conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance involving five grams or more of “ice”; and other charges.
Patris was only found guilty on the charges of making false statements, perjury, and accessory after the fact.
The two are being detained in Guam pending sentencing.
Mafnas moved to dismiss the indictment as a remedy for constitutional rights violations he allegedly experienced while in detention. Patris joined the motion.
On Jan. 9, Munson ruled that the motion was not the proper avenue for the resolution of whatever grievances the two may have relating to their detention in Guam.
