By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands will hold a status conference on Jan. 8 at 1:30 p.m. before Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona, following a Ninth Circuit ruling — which took effect on Dec. 30 — that partially overturned the conviction of Hongjiang Yang and remanded the case for further proceedings.
Yang, who was sentenced in March to 30 days in federal prison, appealed his conviction for conspiracy and aiding and abetting the transportation of illegal aliens. He filed his notice of appeal shortly after sentencing and was represented on appeal by attorney Cong Nie.
A federal jury last year found Yang and co-defendant Meifang Weng guilty of conspiracy and aiding and abetting the transportation of illegal aliens. The jury acquitted Yang on a separate charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States. A third defendant — Yang’s wife, Xiulan Huang — was found not guilty on all counts.
The Ninth Circuit panel — Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia, Judge M. Margaret McKeown and Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson — issued its memorandum decision on Nov. 18. The judges affirmed several aspects of the case but reversed the district court’s denial of Yang’s motion for judgment of acquittal.
The panel ruled that prosecutors failed to prove Yang intended to further the unlawful presence of his wife, whose CW-1 petition had been retroactively approved before the indictment was filed. Because she held lawful status, the court concluded, her transportation could not support a conviction under 8 U.S.C. § 1324.
The case now returns to the district court to determine whether sufficient evidence supports Yang’s conviction as it relates to any other noncitizens.
The Ninth Circuit also upheld the indictment, the admission of testimony regarding Guamanian customs requirements, and the jury instructions. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric S. O’Malley.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
