United States v. Alvarado
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
808 F.3d 474 (2015)
Relevant factsFree
Alvarado's DEA undercover contract authorized illegal conduct only as directed by his handler Romain, but four months in, Romain told him to leave Colombia because he no longer wanted to work with him, and Alvarado nonetheless remained an active cartel member for sixteen more months without ever again contacting Romain or any DEA agent to report on the cartel's activities.
IssueFree
Whether the public-authority defense is applicable if the defendant acted in reasonable reliance on a duly empowered law enforcement officer's authorization, in the public interest, of conduct that would otherwise have been illegal.