Colorado Court of Appeals People v. Fuentes-Espinoza 08CA1231

Decision here.

   Most of this case has more to do with prosecution than law enforcement.  In the most police-relevant part of the case, Fuentes-Espinoza appealed his conviction for violating Colorado's human smuggling statute.  The statute says the following:

A person commits smuggling of humans if, for the purpose

of assisting another person to enter, remain in, or travel

through the United States or the state of Colorado in

violation of immigration laws, he or she provides or agrees   

to provide transportation to that person in exchange for

money or any other thing of value.

   Fuentes-Espinoza argued that the prosecution never proved that his passengers were in the country illegally.  The court of appeals held that the prosecution was not required to prove that the passengers were actually illegally present, only that Fuentes-Espinoza believed they were.  The court compared this to Vecellio, where another division of the court upheld conspiracy and child enticement charges in a case where the "child" was only a ruse by an undercover cop.