⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

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United States v. Maximo Zacarias — 4th Cir. (Sep 18, 2026)

No. 25-4242 Argued September 18, 2026 Published September 29, 2026

The Coast Guard stopped a boat in the eastern Pacific and found a large shipment of marijuana. A Virginia jury convicted two crew members, Maximo Zacarias and Bernacio Solares Ramon, and each received ten years in prison. The government says the boat had no nationality, a status that brings it within the U.S. maritime drug law. That law says a judge, not the jury, decides the vessel-jurisdiction question. The men argue that the Constitution required a jury finding beyond a reasonable doubt, and that prosecuting them also required a connection, or nexus, to the United States. The government disputes both points. The appeal also asks whether any jury-instruction error could have changed the verdict.

United States v. Maximo Zacarias (No. 25-4242) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, argued September 18, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — Fourth Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/OAarchive/mp3/25-4242-20260918.mp3
Argument date, docket and counsel — Fourth Circuit:https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/oral-argument/oral-argument-audio-files
Public briefs index — Fourth Circuit:https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/DataBriefs.aspx?CASENUM=25-4242
Appellate docket — PACER-derived Justia mirror:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca4/25-4242
Trial and Coast Guard encounter — U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Virginia:https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/two-high-seas-mariners-convicted-violation-maritime-drug-law-enforcement-act-eastern
Sentences — U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Virginia:https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/high-seas-mariners-sentenced-decade-prison-violating-maritime-drug-law-enforcement-act
46 U.S.C. § 70502, vessel nationality — U.S. Code:https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title46-section70502
46 U.S.C. § 70504, vessel jurisdiction — U.S. Code:https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&num=0&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title46-section70504
Neder v. United States, harmless-error rule — U.S. Supreme Court:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-527/pdf/USREPORTS-527-1.pdf

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