Court of Appeals Once Again Upholds Human-Smuggling Prosecution
August 05, 2008

Another Unanimous Ruling Supports My Interpretation of Law

For the second time in the same month, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of our prosecution of illegal immigrants under Arizona's human-smuggling statute.

On July 31, 2008, the Court of Appeals ruled that Maricopa County courts have jurisdiction for prosecutions of people committing solicitation to commit human smuggling, even when the solicitation took place in Mexico. We argued that because solicitation is a continuing offense and the illegal immigrant defendant was transported into Maricopa County, the Maricopa County Attorney was authorized to prosecute him under the state's human-smuggling law.

Andres Cox Flores, 39, a Mexican national, was arrested in a remote part of Maricopa County on March 2, 2006. He was one of 54 illegal aliens caught in the act of being transported from Mexico into Maricopa County in two vans. When he was removed from the van and questioned, Flores stated that he was from Mexico City and that he contacted an unknown person in San Luis, Mexico to illegally transport him to Los Angeles for $1,500.00. Flores was indicted on March 13, 2006. He pleaded guilty on June 6, 2006, to soliciting to commit human smuggling, a class six felony.more..

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