Last month, U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller reversed the magistrate court's denial of defendant Colwell's Rule 29 motion on statute of limitations grounds after Colwell was convicted by jury trial of misdemeanor theft of government benefits. See U.S. v. Colwell, 5-9-12 order. After the prosecution announced that it would not be appealing the reversal to the Ninth Circuit, the magistrate court today ordered that a judgment of acquittal be entered for Colwell.
Congratulations to Colwell's attorneys, Chief Assistant Federal Defender Linda Harter, who represented Colwell at trial with certified McGeorge students (now attorneys) Etan Zaitsu and Tatiana Filippova, and to Assistant Federal Defender Michael Petrik who (with Tatiana) successfully represented Colwell on appeal to the district court.
And good luck to Tatiana as she begins her legal career as an Associate Attorney with the Law Office of Michael E. Hanson.