ORLANDO, Fla. - Sept. 28, 2018 - PRLog -- The United States Supreme Court is right now considering whether to hear the appeal of Corvain Cooper ("grant a writ of certiorari"), who has been sentenced to life in prison for non-violent marijuana offenses under the so-called "Three Strikes Law." The petition by his attorney Patrick Megaro, who has been representing him pro bono (without pay, as a community service) is being distributed and reviewed among the Supreme Court Justices. During this process, each of the Justices of the Supreme Court receive a copy of the petition, the Justices' law clerks read and review the petition, and create memoranda outlining the case. The Justices will then meet to decide whether to grant the petition and agree to hear the appeal, or not.
Attorney Patrick Megaro has filed several petitions in support of Cooper, and more than 18,000 people have signed with their names the petition to release Corvain Cooper. See https://www.change.org/p/donald-trump-release-corvain-cooper-from-life-imprisonment-without-parole-for-marijuana
Through his attorney Megaro, Corvain Cooper has simultaneously petitioned President Donald Trump for executive clemency and commutation of his sentence of life imprisonment without parole.
Corvain Cooper and his family, particularly his young daughters, remain hopeful that the Supreme Court will grant the petition.
Patrick Megaro states: "This is a heartbreaking case and I could not help but get involved even though Corvain does not have any money to pay. He has two little daughters who will never go to the movies with their dad or be led to the altar by him unless the Supreme Court interviews or President Trump grants clemency. This is a very important cause - it is estimated that there are about 2,000 people … men and women, fathers and mothers, in prison for life for non-violent drug offenses, oftentimes involving very small amounts of such substances. The punishment does not fit the crime, and in fact it is so disproportionate that it makes a human being sick in the stomach. The reality of the situation is that drug law reform, especially marijuana reform, is at the forefront in many state legislature's agendas. Marijuana is now legalized, decriminalized, or approved for medicinal use in one form or another in the majority of States. Due Process and fundamental fairness are at the heart of this case."
The case is Corvain T. Cooper v. United States, Docket # 18-5222. A link to the online Supreme Court docket can be found at
https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/DocketFiles/html/Public/18-5222.html
The petition is at https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/18/18-5222/52544/20180706170004149_Petition%20for%20Writ%20of%20Certiorari%20and%20Appendix%20FINAL%20PDFA.pdf
Join the other 18,000 supporters of Corvain Cooper who have signed the petition at: https://www.change.org/p/donald-trump-release-corvain-cooper-from-life-imprisonment-without-parole-for-marijuana
The underlying court cases are United States v. Cooper, 624 Fed.Appx. 819 (4th Cir. 2015), and United States v. Cooper, 714 Fed.Appx. 259 (4th Cir. 2018). According to a press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office, "from in or about 2004 through January 2013, Cooper was involved in a drug conspiracy that trafficked marijuana from California to the Charlotte area. Court records show that Cooper was charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute at least one thousand kilograms of marijuana as well as money laundering conspiracy and structuring financial transactions through banking institutions to avoid IRS reporting requirements. Cooper, along with two co-defendants, Evelyn LaChapelle and Natalia Wade, were convicted of all charges on October 18, 2013, following a three-day trial." He was sentenced to life in prison on June 18, 2014. See https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/california-drug-trafficker-sentenced-life-prison-drug-conspiracy-and-related-charges
Patrick Megaro has provided information about the "Three Strikes Law" and related matters in this regard in his online library, https://themegarocriminallawlibrary.com/
An analysis by the Orange County Register is available online at https://www.ocregister.com/2018/09/10/this-man-will-spend-life-in-prison-for-a-marijuana-conviction-unless-donald-trump-or-the-supreme-court-helps-him/
A Wikipedia article on Three-Strikes Law is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law
A online petition urging the President to grant Corvain Cooper clemency and release him from prison is at https://www.change.org/p/donald-trump-release-corvain-cooper-from-life-imprisonment-without-parole-for-marijuana
Contact
Halscott Megaro PA
Patrick Megaro, Attorney for Corvain Cooper
***@appealslawgroup.com
Photos: (Click photo to enlarge)
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