Christopher "Dudus" Coke has waived extradition and arrived in New York to face drug charges.

He was on his way to the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica yesterday, accompanied by a religious leader, Al Miller, when police stopped their car and arrested Dudus.

Dudus issued this statement: [More...]

Update: I think CNN's headline that Joran's lawyer is seeking his release is a bit off. In an interview with the Dutch media today, his lawyer was asked what's next if he wins the habeas: (Google translation here):

The process should be back to square one. In Peru there are just two reasons to dictate detention: one is in flagrante delicto, that is, at the time of the offense, and the other is by court order. In the case of flagrante delicto Joran has not been because they have not caught when he allegedly committed the crime. There has been an injunction based on research that has been made fraudulently. Then the prosecution would be null too. Not that Joran van der Sloot will go free, because once you take your statement with all the guarantees of the law, and he is back to his arrest.

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In his interview with De Telegraaf (google translated version here), Joran Van der Sloot says he was lured to Peru from Aruba by Uruguayan/Albanian poker player Elton Garcia, who invited him to play in the tournament and paid for his trip. Why would Elton do that? [More...]

The Peru Penal Code and the New Code of Penal Procedure address the rights of defendants and defense counsel, provide for the insanity defense and explain the procedure for taking statements during the investigation phase of the case. For those interested in the Joran Van der Sloot case in Peru, the details may prove interesting. (For those not interested, just scroll on by.)

The full penal code is here. The new code of penal procedure is here.

Peru provides many rights to the defendant, including the right to remain silent and the right to have a lawyer present during questioning.

I'm reprinting portions below that I think are relevant to Joran Van der Sloot, both as to the insanity defense, the right to remain silent and to have a lawyer present during questioning, and the proscription against coerced confessions. [More...]

The court in Lima handling the case of Joran Van der Sloot issued a press release on yesterday's proceedings. (Google English translation here.)It ends with a call for the media to report responsibly and accurately.

Also according to the press release, the judge ordered additional psych reports today:

Dr. Córdova Morales also ordered the implementation of psychological and psychiatric expertise to the principal defendant, and the necropsy ratificaciónde and all expert reports made in the preliminary stage (fingerprint, forensic psychology, criminal roadworthiness, toxicological, etc.), the specialists to explain the reasons for their opinions.

CNN says it has obtained a copy of a psychological report performed and reports the details. Since the press release refers twice to psych reports, it seems the Court ordered additional ones today and also ordered it be provided any prepared during the police investigation. If so, the police version is not the only one the Judge will be reviewing. Hopefully the experts appointed by the Court will be more discreet.

Are there sanctions in Peru for improper leaking of police documents to the media? Probably not, since CNN presumably has lawyers whose job it is to know these things. But there should be. CNN seems to think because there are no juries in Peru, there's no prejudice to the defendant and all is fair game. I guess CNN is now competing with the Enquirer.

Via Sentencing Law and Policy, a federal judge in Iowa has issued a 52 page memorandum (available here) deciding that the appropriate sentence for Agriprocessor's Sholom Rubashkin is 27 years. Prosecutors asked for 25 years (previously they said they wanted life), the defense asked for 6 years. The local news report is here.

Rubashkin, age 51, had no prior convictions. The judge found a lot of enhancements, and determined his guideline range to be 324 to 405 months. She rejected all requests for a downward departure or variance. The defense grounds for departure were:

Defendant asks the court to depart downward due to Defendant’s relationship with his autistic minor son, his charitable and civic deeds and his mental health.

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Bump and Update:: Joran Van der Sloot's meeting with the Judge has concluded. According to Peruvian news, he said nothing. (English Google translation here.)

Radio Programs reported, the judge stayed for nearly an hour inside the prison, and finally had to put on record the refusal of the Netherlands in a joint report with the prosecutor.

Original Post: Dutch Report: Joran Van der Sloot Says Tricked Into Confessing

According to the Dutch Newspaper Der Telegraaf, which says its reporters interviewed Joran Van der Sloot in his prison cell, Joran now says he was tricked into signing the confession. (Google translation here.) From the translation:[More...]

Joran Van der Sloot will appear before a judge today in Lima. (Court's press release here, Spanish version here.) The hearing will be at Miguel Castro Castro prison. Again, the media reports are all over the place as to what charges the prosecutor has asked the Judge to consider and who his lawyer will be.

First off, contrary to some news reports Sunday (which appear to be based on this one from Lima, translation here), New York attorney Joe Tacopina is not going to Peru (at least not at this time) but he has been consulting with Joran's mother and assisting her in securing a top attorney in Peru. How do I know? He's a good friend of mine and he just told me.

Second, as I understand them, the charges being contemplated are murder (with special circumstances) and simple theft (not aggravated robbery.) The best source is the Court's press release announcing the charges on June 11, 2010. Translation, followed by Spanish: [More...]

Judge Carlos Morales Cordova of the 4th Criminal Court in Lima, who is conducting the inquiry into the charges of murder and simple theft filed against Joran Van der Sloot, has scheduled an interrogation of Joran at Miguel Castro Castro Prison for 10:00 am Monday Morning. [Google translation here. Another version is here, translation here.)

The press release in Spanish is here and the Google Translated version here.

Judge Cordova is also requesting psychiatric and other expert evaluations, and the autopsy findings, to assist him in deciding whether Joran should stand trial on these charges. He also plans to schedule a reconstruction of the crime scene and will interrogate the three taxi drivers charged with failing to report the crime.

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El Commercio and Peru 21 are reporting that Joran Van der Sloot is getting a new attorney -- Cesar Nakasaki, attorney for former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori. Nakasaki says he cannot confirm the information.

Joran also has a judge, Carlos Morales Cordova, of the Fourth Circuit Court for Prison Inmates. He has received the complaint against him, charging simple murder and theft. Reportedly, Joran will go to court on Friday for his first appearance. [More...]

A judge in Los Angeles today ruled Dr. Conrad Murray, accused of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, can keep his California medical license. The California Medical Board had asked the court to revoke it, saying he was a public threat. Murray's lawyers pointed out no evidence has yet been presented in court. Today, the judge hearing the request said the matter had previously been ruled on by another judge and he had no authority to rule differently.

The preliminary hearing is now set for August 23. Dr. Murray practices in Nevada and Texas. ABC News reports:

Murray gained a much-needed dose of good press last month when helped revive a woman who became unconscious on a US Airways flight from Houston to Phoenix.

June 25 will be the first anniversary of Jackson's death.

This video shows Joran Van der Sloot's booking at the Miguel Castro Castro Jail in Lima, and the cameras follow as he is brought to his cell and given a blood pressure check and answering some questions. Another notorious murderer tries to enter his cell and his whisked away. He's calm and polite throughout. He does tell the medical examiner his head hurts. He tells the reporters he's suspected of murder.

24ora.org has published the ten page police report with the transcript of Joran Van der Sloot's entire confession to Peruvian authorities. It's in Spanish. A clearer copy is here.

At the end, Joran is asked if he wants to add anything. He says he wants Peru to close their case so he can be extradited to Aruba and tell the authorities about Natalee Holloway. (In the statement, he also says he asked the Chilean authorities if he could be extradited to Aruba.)

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