Cox & Mazzoli

Press

Court decision could free drug suspects

Court decision could free drug suspects

Raising the possibility that a dozen alleged drug dealers could go free, a federal appeals court yesterday upheld an order suppressing wiretap evidence in a Louisville case involving 50 pounds of cocaine. In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell’s order in 2005 that evidence drawn from more than 4,000 tapped telephone calls could not be used. In 2004, Reginald S. Rice of Louisville and 11 codefendants were indicted on charges of conspiring to traffic in cocaine. Authorities said they seized nearly 50 pounds of cocaine and about $250,000. . . . Two defense lawyers – Scott C. Cox, who represents Rice, and Frank A. Mascagni III, who represents defendant Marshall Thomas Evidence Jr. – said they intend to file motions asking Russell to release their clients on bail. . . .. “It might sound trite, but it’s nice to have it reconfirmed that they (judges) make rulings on the law, and it doesn’t matter what the defendant’s reputation is and what he’s charged with,” Cox said. “That’s just a good thing.” ...