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By Matthew Russell Lee, @SDNYLIVE

SDNY COURTHOUSE, May 16 – A woman who missed her Massachusetts Federal court date for fentanyl was presented on May 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate's courtroom, presided over for the week by Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron. Things looked bleak for the defendant, Ms. Caraballo, when the Assistant U.S. Attorney threw into the mix that there was an ICE detainer, making her even more of a flight risk.

  But Federal Defender Julia Gatto pointed out that Ms. Caraballo has been in the United States for 27 years and has a green card. Two of her children are returning from the Dominican Republic in June and expect her to meet them at the airport. Judge Aaron added that the Varsity Blues case, on which he said he had signed a letter earlier in the day, showed that people can and do show up for court in Massachusetts.

 After a short recess during which he conferred outside the courtroom with Pre Trial Services, Judge Aaron order Ms. Caraballo released on $10,000 bond, initially on her own signature.

   There was no need to for sealing the underlying documents, it was said - something not the case for the next and final case, including a Mr. Roberts, alleged Felon in Possession, in an orange Ulster County jumpsuit. The case number given appeared to be 19-cr-75. But that case on PACER is listed as sealed. Inner City Press hopes to have more on this.

Back on May 9 three residents of Estonia just extradited to the United States on drug charges were arraigned in the SDNY Magistrate's courtroom, presided over that week by Magistrate Judge Ona Wang.

According to the U.S. Attorney,  "Estonian residents JEVGENI BOKOV, VIKTOR LITVINTSUK, AMID MAGERRAMOV, NIKOLAI NIFTALIJEV, and VITALI VORONJUK have been charged in an Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court with narcotics trafficking and money laundering offenses, including conspiracy to import carfentanil and fentanyl into the United States."

  According to the Complaint, at Paragraph 26a, "carfentenil is used commercially to tranquilize large animals such as elephants and rhinoceroses."

Three of the men appeared in shackles in the Mag Court on May 9, with Inner City Press the only media present. Each had a CJA lawyer (one was involved in a Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods guilty plea allocution earlier in the day, here); they shared an interpreter. Viktor Litvintsuk, represented by the Federal Defenders, had asked SDNY Judge J. Paul Oetken for an adjourment until May 17 in order to attempt to work out a disposition.

Now that court date will involve the three who appeared shackled in Mag Court on May 9. Inner City Press will be there - watch this site.

 The U.S. Attorney's put out a press release before the men were arraigned before Magistrate Judge Wang, without saying when it would be, on the same day it held a press call about North Korea sanctions, here....

At the start of the Mag Court week on May 6 in the courtroom, along with Inner City Press as the only media, were Defendant Canales and his lawyer, the Assistant U.S. Attorney and a colleague, two court security officers, and Judge Wang and her Deputy. Canales' lawyer said that the trend is toward decriminalizing marijuana, "especially in New York." But Judge Wang pointed out that on a VOSR, the burder shifts to the defendant, who had not carried it this time.

  The offer to have the girl friend or wife sign a bond did not convince Judge Wang, as it was also said the girlfriend or wife had misled the marshals who went to arrest her husband or boyfriend. And so it goes in Magistrate Court - we may have more on this case this week, amid a few new trials. For now, one note on best practice in Mag Court: Deputies should announce the names and identifying numbers of the cases before them. Watch this site. 

  A week before Inner City Press has tried to cover a Magistrates' Court case announced by the Office of the US Attorney, involving "John Lambert – the defendant is charged with perpetrating a scheme to defraud consumers of legal advice and services by falsely representing that he is an experienced attorneys who had attended elite law schools, when in fact he is not attorneys and had never attended law school – in Magistrate court (courtroom 5A)." But that courtroom was locked at 10 am, and at 10:45 am. The Office politely informed Inner City Press just after Lambert was presented and before he left the courthouse. We will try to follow this case, and the several appointments of counsel and other proceedings that occurred before Judge Fox on the first day of his week presiding in Mag Court.

Back on April 26, a defendant indicted for ketamine, with a Mandarin interpreter, was arraigned by retiring Magistrate Judge Henry Pitman.

The defendant was rail thin; his Federal Defender lawyer asked for a medical order which was the subject of a sidebar discussion also involving the Assistant US Attorney and a US Marshal, who went in and out of the cell block. "What we discussed, you take it once a day?" Judge Pitman asked. The answer was yes, and that went into the medical order.

Just before, another drug defendant Mr. Lopez appeared with private counsel, whom he refered to when Judge Pitman asked as his friend. Later a man in a checkered shirt made a fast appearance to have a free lawyer appointed - then followed the U.S. Attorneys into their office on the fifth floor. Apparently a material or cooperating witness, though nothing was said of it in open court. The same lawyer was appointed to represent a Mr. Brito. Thus ended the SDNY week - see @SDNYLIVE.

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