Violation of the Fourteenth Amendment: CASE No. 23-cr-00257

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Violation of the Fourteenth Amendment: CASE No. 23-cr-00257

A border-smuggling complaint from Eagle Pass, Texas, and an order in Donald Trump’s election case in Washington, D.C. carry the same number, 23-cr-00257. We explain the Texas case first, then compare it with Trump’s, and argue that putting two different subject matters under one number violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process guarantee

Two court documents. Two different cities. Two different crimes. One is a border-smuggling complaint from Eagle Pass, Texas. The other is an order in the election case against Donald J. Trump in Washington, D.C. Both carry the same number: 23-cr-00257. We start with the Texas document, then ask how a smuggling case ended up with the same number as Trump’s.
ONE NUMBER · TWO COURTS
23-cr-00257
WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
Border-Smuggling Complaint
Eagle Pass, Texas · Filed January 17, 2023
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Trump Election Case
Washington, D.C. · Indicted August 1, 2023

Start Here: The Eagle Pass Complaint

DOCUMENT 01
United States v. Malagon and Molina Cruz
Case No. 2:23-cr-00257-AM
Court U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas (Del Rio Division)
Filed January 17, 2023
Document Criminal Complaint (Form AO 91), Document 1
Charge 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(I) and (B)(i): conspiracy to transport people who entered the U.S. illegally, for profit
Brought by A Customs & Border Protection enforcement officer
Sworn before U.S. Magistrate Judge Collis White, Del Rio, Texas
Criminal Complaint, page 1
Criminal Complaint
Document 1 · Filed 01/17/23
“
WHAT THE DOCUMENT SAYS
On January 13, 2023, at the Camino Real International Port of Entry in Eagle Pass, two adults tried to bring two Mexican children into the United States. They told border officers the children were U.S. citizens and showed two Texas birth certificates. Officers found the children were citizens of Mexico with no papers to enter the country, and arrested both adults.
Two numbers on one page. The complaint was first filed under a magistrate number, DR23-M-00155, handwritten on the form. The criminal case number 2:23-cr-00257-AM appears in the court’s electronic filing stamp across the top.
THE JUDGES
Hon. Alia Moses
Hon. Alia Moses
CHIEF U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE · ASSIGNED JUDGE (AM)
AppointedPresident George W. Bush, 2002
Born1962, Eagle Pass, Texas
EducationTexas Woman’s University (B.B.A.); University of Texas School of Law (J.D.)
Prior ServiceU.S. Magistrate Judge, W.D. Tex. (1997–2002)
Courthouse111 E. Broadway, Del Rio, TX
Hon. Collis White
Hon. Collis White
U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE · SIGNED THE COMPLAINT
AppointedW.D. Tex. magistrate judge since 2009
BornNot publicly listed
EducationUniversity of Kansas (B.S.); John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Prior ServiceNew York City police officer
Courthouse111 E. Broadway, Del Rio, TX

Then: The Order in Trump’s Election Case

DOCUMENT 02
United States v. Donald J. Trump
Case No. 1:23-cr-00257-TSC
Court U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
Filed September 15, 2023 (case indicted August 1, 2023)
Document Opinion and Order, Document 55
Charges 18 U.S.C. § 371, § 1512(k), § 1512(c)(2), § 241
Brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith
Outcome Dismissed without prejudice on November 25, 2024, at the government’s request
Opinion and Order, page 1
Opinion and Order
Document 55 · Filed 09/15/23
“
WHAT THE DOCUMENT SAYS
The government asked to file a motion with a few parts blacked out: the names of people who were targeted by Trump’s public statements and later harassed, and excerpts from witness interviews. Judge Chutkan weighed the six Hubbard factors on public access, found that protecting witnesses from intimidation outweighed public access to those details, and granted the request. She also set the briefing schedule: Trump’s opposition by September 25, 2023, and the government’s reply by September 30, 2023.
THE JUDGES
Hon. Tanya S. Chutkan
Hon. Tanya S. Chutkan
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE · PRESIDING JUDGE (TSC)
AppointedPresident Barack Obama, 2014
Born1962, Kingston, Jamaica
EducationGeorge Washington University (B.A., 1983); University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D., 1987)
Prior ServiceNone
Courthouse333 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC

How Does a Border Case Share Trump’s Number?

Put the two documents side by side and nothing matches except the number.
WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
United States v. Malagon
Court
W.D. Texas (Del Rio)
Where
Eagle Pass border crossing
Filed
January 17, 2023
Started as
Officer’s complaint
Law
Title 8 (immigration)
Subject
Smuggling two children across the border
Defendants
Two private individuals
Judge
Alia Moses
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
United States v. Trump
Court
District of Columbia
Where
Washington, D.C.
Filed
Indicted August 1, 2023
Started as
Grand jury indictment
Law
Title 18 (federal crimes)
Subject
Efforts to overturn the 2020 election
Defendants
A former President
Judge
Tanya S. Chutkan
IN COMMON
Only the number 23-cr-00257. Two different subject matters.

Our Argument

1.
A smuggling case had the number months earlier.
Malagon received 2:23-cr-00257-AM on January 17, 2023. Trump’s indictment came on August 1, 2023, more than six months later, under the same 23-cr-00257.
2.
Two different subject matters.
One case charges two private people with smuggling children across the Texas border under immigration law (Title 8). The other charges a former President over the 2020 election under federal criminal law (Title 18). There is no shared fact, law or party.
3.
The system does not add up.
A case number is supposed to identify one case. Here the same number points to a border arrest in Eagle Pass and a presidential prosecution in Washington. Even the Texas complaint itself carries two numbers (DR23-M-00155 and 2:23-cr-00257-AM).
4.
In our view, due process is not met.
Due process requires fair notice and a clear record. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees it against the states, and the Fifth Amendment against the federal government. A record that cannot separate two different subject matters by number does not give that clarity.

What the Record Shows

  • Each of the 94 federal district courts numbers its own cases every year. The Del Rio division of the Texas court and the D.C. court each reached criminal case number 257 in 2023 on their own count.
  • The office code (2 for Del Rio, 1 for Washington) and the judge’s initials (AM, TSC) are what tell the two cases apart. No court has ruled on a due process claim based on a shared case number.

Conclusion

The first document is a border-smuggling complaint: two adults at Eagle Pass, two Mexican children, false claims of U.S. citizenship, charged under immigration law. The second is an order in Donald Trump’s election case in Washington, protecting witnesses from harassment. Both carry 23-cr-00257.
A smuggling case and a presidential election case are two different subject matters. When one number covers both, the record does not tell the public, or the accused, which case is which.
BOTTOM LINE
Two different subject matters under one number. In our view, that is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process guarantee.
Sources: Criminal Complaint, 2:23-cr-00257-AM (W.D. Tex.); Opinion and Order, Doc. 55, 1:23-cr-00257-TSC (D.D.C.), via GovInfo; Federal Judicial Center; U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

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