60.
Finally, on August 17, 2004, the Criminal Trial Court of the First Judicial Circuit
of San José, a collegiate court composed of the judges, LGBG, OWW and AMD, declared
by the unanimous vote of the three judges in judgment No. 851-04 that Scot Cochran
was responsible for the crimes of: “violation of the law on narcotics, psychotropic
substances, drugs of unauthorized use, and related activities, under the heading of
supplying minors, committed against public health […]; manufacture or production of
pornography and dissemination of pornography, both committed to the detriment of [a
number of minors]][…]; paid sexual relations with minors, and corruption”; all these
crimes committed concurrently (en concurso material). Consequently, the defendant
was sentenced to 154 years’ imprisonment, which, under the rules for concurrent crimes
established in article 22 of the Criminal Code, resulted in 45 years’ imprisonment.91
61.
The case file reveals that, when his residence was raided92 and when his initial
statement was taken,93 Scot Cochran was offered a public defender, but he appointed
private defense counsel. Also, he had at least five different private defense counsel
before the trial stage began.94 Subsequently, at the trial stage, he appointed two new
defense counsel,95 and at the appeal stage, he was represented by at least six lawyers.96
B.
The system of appeals against the criminal judgment and the
remedies filed
B.1.
Remedy of cassation
62.
On September 6, 2004, Scot Cochran’s lawyers filed a remedy of cassation
against the criminal judgment sentencing him to 45 years’ imprisonment. Subsequently, on
October 5, 2004, the petitioner presented a documented entitled “cross-appeal for
cassation.”97 Scot Cochran’s private defense counsel argued that there had been four
formal errors regarding: the date of the alleged victim’s entry into the country; the lack
of documents proving the identity of some of the victims; the absence of a psychosocial
report on some of the victims, and the unreliability of several psychosocial reports. They
also argued a substantial error in relation to the disregard, or erroneous application, of
articles 21, 22, 74 and 75 of the Criminal Code, considering that there was a “concurso
91
Cf. Judgment No. 851-04 of the Criminal Trial Court of the First Judicial Circuit of San José of August
17, 2004 (evidence file, folios 7363 to 7461).
92
Cf. Expansion of the report on the raid of Scot Cochran’s residence (evidence file, folio 7306).
Cf. Record of preliminary statement before the Special Unit for Sexual Crimes and Domestic Violence
of the Public Prosecution Service in San José dated January 20, 2003 (evidence file, folios 927 and 928).
93
Lawyer GP was appointed initially (evidence file, folio 42), and was then replaced by AGR (evidence file,
folio 927), who was, in turn, replaced by lawyer APG on April 21, 2003 (evidence file, folio 1315); lawyer JMG
was appointed co-defender with the latter on June 25, 2003 (evidence file, folio 1302). The former of these
two renounced and was replaced by RGS (evidence file, folio 1397) and, subsequently, RQL was appointed
co-defender on October 21, 2003 (evidence file, folio 3249).
94
95
Lawyers MCZ and MSB were appointed on May 28, 2004 (evidence file, folios 1719, 1727 and 1734).
Layers MCZ and MSB filed the remedy of cassation (evidence file, folio 2039). Lawyer JCC filed an
application for habeas corpus in favor of Scot Cochran (evidence file, folio 2322) and later filed an appeal for
review (evidence file, folio 2343). He also had a public defender, FAH, for another of the appeals for review
(evidence file, folios 24 and 29) and lawyer ABR for the last appeal before the Third Chamber (evidence file,
folio 38).
96
97
Cf. Adhesion to the remedy of cassation filed by MCZ on behalf of Scot Cochran on October 5, 2004,
against judgment No. 851-04 delivered by the Criminal Trial Court of the First Judicial Circuit of San José on
August 17, 2004 (evidence file, folios 84 to 112).
18