Ross Ulbricht’s legal defense filed a reply to the government as part of his appeal this week. On behalf of Ulbricht, who was sentenced to double life in prison without parole for operating the Silk Road dark marketplace under the alias Dread Pirate Roberts (DPR) more than a year ago, attorney Joshua Dratel disputes the fairness of the trial. The defense has requested that Ulbricht’s “convictions should be vacated, and a new trial ordered, or that he be re-sentenced before a different district judge.”
Ulbricht’s defense had issued an initial appeal earlier this year, which was answered by state prosecutors in late May. This week, the defense responded to these answers in a brief submitted to the appellate court, hoping to prove — most importantly — that Ulbricht’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights were violated.
To learn more about the appeal, Bitcoin Magazine reached out to Ulbricht’s mother, Lyn Ulbricht, who’s been fighting for her son’s rights ever since he was arrested in October of 2013.
Right to a Fair Trial
The overriding issue in the appeal is Ulbricht’s right to a fair trial and right to present a defense, as established by the Fifth and Sixth amendments to the United States Constitution. Ulbricht’s defense maintains that these rights were denied to Ulbricht. Most importantly — but not exclusively — as evidence pertaining to corrupt agents involved in the case was not allowed to be brought forth in court.
This evidence, most importantly concerns special agents Carl Mark Force IV and Shawn Bridges, both of whom confessed to corruption and are currently serving time in prison. State prosecutors were aware of both these cases at the time of Ulbricht’s trial. One of them was also known to the Ulbricht defense at the time, while the other was not — a deliberate non-disclosure, […]
