Memo Assignment
Instructions: You are limited to no more than 5 pages of text, Times Roman 12 point, 1-inch margins on all sides, 1.5 spacing. List the sources you use to document your responses on a separate page as "endnotes" not footnotes. Cite the sources in the body of the paper. Use the Uniform Citation Manual (Blue Book format) to document the memo you submit.
Recently, you completed the state bar exam to become licensed as a lawyer in Texas. While awaiting the results on your bar exam a lawyer at the law firm where you clerk has three clients that were arrested for assisting undocumented people (illegal aliens) to enter the United States, crossing the Texas border. The facts are:
Federal officials investigated and indicted Juan, Roger, and David (three Mexican citizens) for human trafficking. The suspects provide safe passage for illegal/undocumented aliens' travel from Central American to the Mexico/Texas border, luring aliens who unknowingly will work on farms picking fruit and performing other agricultural labor for marginal wages. Once the suspects have transported these workers about 3 miles from the border they no longer assist those wanting to cross into Texas. The suspects never cross into the United States, have no connections to the United States, have never travelled to the United States, nor have visas to travel to the United States. But federal prosecutors in Houston, Texas have asserted jurisdiction to prosecute these suspects.
You are asked to provide a legal analysis for the following issues:
1. Does the term "human trafficking" based on the Trafficking Victims Protection Act TVPA) apply to our fact pattern? (Hint: you may want to review the original TVPA statute of 2000 for the definition).
2. Can the prosecutors establish based on the actions of the suspects "subject matter" jurisdiction? (You may want to read or consult sources (cases, ALR, etc.) regarding the definition of subject matter jurisdiction.)
3. Can the prosecutors establish based on the actions of the suspects "personal" jurisdiction (cases, ALR, etc.)? (You may want to read or consult sources regarding the definition of personal jurisdiction.)
4. Can the clients be prosecuted for human trafficking under federal law?