John C. Kiyonaga, P.C.

Representative Cases

Murder:
Won a jury verdict of Voluntary Manslaughter (six year sentence) for a defendant charged with First Degree Murder.

Persuaded the United States Government to decline the pursuit of the death penalty against an MS-13 gang member charged with capital murder and accused of seven unrelated homicides—based on childhood traumas uncovered by Mr. Kiyonaga while investigating in rural El Salvador.

Drug Importation:
Won a five count acquittal—alone among five accused co-conspirators—for a defendant charged with importing cocaine from Central America.

Firearms Offenses:
Won a seven count jury acquittal for a convicted felon found in possession of two handguns.

Fraud:
Secured the dismissal of a federal indictment against a British tour operator who had accepted $200,000 to provide a European tour to a professional association for wholly undelivered services he allegedly never intended to provide.

Immigration Fraud:
Won the dismissal—after two mistrials—of all charges against a Salvadoran national who had attempted to enter the country with a counterfeit passport.

Tax Evasion:
Won a sentence of one third the minimum recommended for a factory owner who had failed to pay over $1 million in employment taxes.

Espionage:
Secured a 10 year sentence for a NASA geophysicist charged with capital espionage.

Burglary/Arson:
Secured a dismissal of all counts against a psychologically injured veteran.

Embezzlement:
Won a four count felony dismissal for a construction manager charged with embezzling $50,000 worth of supplies.

False Statements:
Won the dismissal of all counts following the two week federal jury trial of a State Department official charged with lying on his security clearance application.

Capital Defense
Mr. Kiyonaga is certified by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and by the Commonwealth of Virginia to defend death penalty cases and has defended such cases multiple times in the federal courts of the Eastern District of Virginia and the Districts of Maryland, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Supreme Court
Mr. Kiyonaga briefed the appeal of a defendant which was heard by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of consular access under the Vienna Convention for non US citizen defendants. In support of the defendant's petition, he secured the appearance of over 30 sovereign amici to include the entire European Union.

Sovereign Clients
Mr. Kiyonaga has represented the Republic of El Salvador as amicus curiae before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the appeal of a former Salvadoran Minister of Internal Security in a human rights case arising from the Salvadoran civil war.

At the request of foreign embassies, he has also represented numerous diplomats before Washington, D.C area courts.

International Clients
Mr. Kiyonaga represented the Tamil Tigers before the High Court of Madras, India on a case of Tamil seamen held by the Indian government after their vessel was seized by the Indian Navy on the high seas.

As a fluent Spanish speaker, Mr. Kiyonaga has represented hundreds of foreign clients.

Post Conviction Relief
Mr. Kiyonaga has successfully challenged convictions in federal court and in the courts of Virginia and the District of Columbia, to include several challenges based on the failure of counsel to advise non US citizen defendants of the immigration consequences of their guilty pleas.

Lecturer
Mr. Kiyonaga has presented to the Federal Bar Assn. and the Alexandria (Virginia) Bar Assn. on the defense of the psychologically disabled.

Legal Notice
Case results depend on factors unique to each case and cannot be predicted or guaranteed for similar cases.