Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman scheduled the sentencing for Sept. 17, 2008.
The jury started its deliberations on Monday after hearing the closing arguments of the prosecution and the defense.
Assistant Attorney General Melissa Simms, in an interview, said the jurors made the right decision when they found Mia guilty of solicitation.
“For the chargesof conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, we thought that the evidence was there but we respect the verdict of the jury,” Simms said. She added that they knew the jury spent a lot of time before coming out with the verdict.
Defense lawyer Stephen Woodruff told the Variety that the jurors were deadlocked and were unable to reach a verdict yesterday, but they resumed their deliberations after Wiseman told them of the importance of coming out with a verdict.
“Naturally we disagree with the verdict of finding Mia guilty of solicitation but this is an exceptional jury, I gave them credit for their decision,” Woodruff said. “We do feel the evidence for solicitation was inadequate, but we will be reviewing that along with other records of the case to determine if we will be considering a post-trial motion or an appeal,” Woodroff said.
He added that he has a high regard for the jurors and if they made a mistake in the solicitation case, “it’s because some aspects of the law is difficult to apply.”
Mia, Maria Ray, Minto Minto and Saiful Islam were arrested on April 13, 2007 and charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and solicitation of marriage fraud.
In her closing argument, Simms said Mia’s entry permit had already expired and he was supposed to depart from the CNMI in 2006.
Mia “needed to marry to get an entry permit” in order to remain here, she added.
Based on the affidavit of immigration investigator Erwin Flores, Ray and her husband Minto Minto approached Severene Kosam on March 14, 2007 and asked her if she was interested in a “fixed marriage” in exchange for money.
The defense, however, said it was Kosam who approached Ray and proposed to her that she should marry somebody.
The affidavit stated that Miah and Kosam submitted a marriage application on April 12, 2007.
