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Defense says investigator uncovered ‘good evidence’ in fraudulent driver’s license case
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Posted on Jun 20 2011
The lawyer of a man accused of fraudulently obtaining a driver’s license was given more time to prepare for trial, after telling the federal court that their investigator has uncovered some very good evidence that they will use at trial.
U.S. District Court for the NMI judge A. Wallace Tashima said that postponing the trial will give Wei Lin’s counsel, Joseph James Norita Camacho, more time to prepare his defense.
Lin’s original jury trial was for July 11, 2011; Tashima moved this to Aug. 22, 2011.
Assistant U.S. attorney Kirk Schuler, as counsel for the U.S. government, did not object to the continuance.
Camacho told Saipan Tribune that the defense investigator has uncovered some very good evidence that they will present at the jury trial in August. He said the one-month extension will allow the defense to conclude its investigation.
The lawyer said this is a very important case as it touches upon racial profiling.
Regardless of a person’s race, a traffic officer cannot just stop someone on the road without probable cause, Camacho said.
He pointed out that Lin was not even cited for any traffic violation, yet the traffic officer confiscated his driver’s license and ordered him to walk home.
“This is not Communist China. In the CNMI even Chinese people are guaranteed basic constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure,” the lawyer said.
Lin is charged with two counts of document fraud and a count of false statements to a federal agent.
According to the indictment, Li allegedly paid a third-party to obtain the driver’s license without meeting legal requirements. Lin also allegedly presented the Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles with an affidavit falsely stating that he had lost his previous driver’s license, when he knew that it had been seized by a police officer.
