{"id":"court_2cir_26-1853_dkt_16","court":"2Cir","case_no":"26-1853","doc_number":16,"sub_number":0,"doc_type":"MOTION","filed_date":null,"title":"Case: 26-1853, 08/05/2026, DktEntry: 16.1, (1 of 1) UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT","summary_zh":"解除及替换辩护律师动议 —— 美国诉 Ho Wan Kwok（郭文贵 / Guo Wengui / Miles Guo）案，2Cir 26-1853 ECF #16（2026-08-05立案）。根据《刑事司法法》（CJA）指定的辩护律师 Joshua L. Dratel 提请动议，请求解除其作为郭文贵上诉律师的职务，并由纽约联邦公设辩护人机构（Federal Defenders of New York）接替。附带声明说明郭文贵于2026年6月29日被判处360个月监禁并被处8.89亿美元没收令，检方对律师回避及按 CJA 规定指定替任律师不持异议。","summary_en":"Motion to withdraw and substitute counsel — United States v. Ho Wan Kwok (Miles Guo), 2Cir 26-1853 ECF #16 (filed 2026-08-05). CJA-appointed defense attorney Joshua L. Dratel moves to be relieved as appellate counsel for Miles Guo and requests that the Federal Defenders of New York be substituted. The supporting declaration notes that Guo was sentenced on June 29, 2026, to 360 months imprisonment and $889 million in forfeiture, and states that the Government does not oppose counsel's withdrawal or replacement under the CJA plan.","body_en":"Case: 26-1853, 08/05/2026, DktEntry: 16.1, (1 of 1)\n                                         UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT\n\n                      Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse 40 Foley Square, New York, NY 10007 Telephone: 212-857-8500\n\n                                                              MOTION INFORMATION STATEMENT\n\nDocket Number(s): 26-1853                                                                                      Caption [use short title]\n\nMotion for: counsel to be relieved\n\nSet forth below precise, complete statement of relief sought:\n                                                                                          UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. GUO\nfor counsel to be relieved as CJA appellate counsel,\nand have the Federal Defenders substituted as counsel.\n\nMOVING PARTY: Miles Guo                                                             OPPOSING PARTY: United States of America\n\n              Plaintiff                          Defendant\n\n              Appellant/Petitioner               Appellee/Respondent\n\nMOVING ATTORNEY: Joshua L. Dratel                          OPPOSING ATTORNEY: AUSA Ryan B. Finkel\n                         [name of attorney, with firm, address, phone number and e-mail]\nLaw Offices of Dratel & Lewis                                                         United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York\n29 Broadway, Ste. 1412, New York, NY 10006                                           26 Federal Plaza, 37th Floor, New York, NY 10278\n(212) 732-0707, jdratel@dratellewis.com                                              (212) 637-6612, Ryan.Finkel@usdoj.gov\n\nCourt- Judge/ Agency appealed from: The Honorable Analisa Torres, S.D.N.Y.\n\nPlease check appropriate boxes:                                                         FOR EMERGENCY MOTIONS, MOTIONS FOR STAYS AND\n                                                                                        INJUCTIONS PENDING APPEAL:\n Has movant notified opposing counsel (required by Local Rule 27.1):                     Has this request for relief been made below?          Yes No\n             Yes       No (explain):                                                     Has this relief been previously sought in this court? Yes No\n           Gov't position set forth at para 5 of defense counsel's Declaration.\n\n                                                                                         Requested return date and explanation of emergency:\n\nOpposing counsel’s position on motion:\n            Unopposed        Opposed      Don’t Know\nDoes opposing counsel intend to file a response:\n             Yes      _No       Don’t Know\n\nIs the oral argument on motion requested?                       Yes          No (requests for oral argument will not necessarily be granted)\n\nHas the appeal argument date been set?                          Yes          No If yes, enter date:\n\nSignature of Moving Attorney:\n                                                     Date: 8/5/26                         \u0003\u0003\u0003\u0003Service :    Electronic        Other [Attach proof of service]\n\nForm T-1080 (rev. 10-23)\n\nCase: 26-1853, 08/05/2026, DktEntry: 16.2, (1 of 3)\n\nUNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS\nFOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT\n------------------------------------------------------x\n                                                           Docket No. 26-1853\nUNITED STATES OF AMERICA,\n                Appellee\n                                                           DECLARATION IN SUPPORT\n                 – against –                               OF MOTION TO BE RELIEVED\n\nMILES GUO,\n                           Appellant.                      (filed electronically)\n-------------------------------------------------------x\n\n        JOSHUA L. DRATEL, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1746, hereby affirms under penalty of\n\nperjury:\n\n        1. I am an attorney admitted to practice before this Court since 1984, and have been\n\nappointed pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act (“CJA”) to represent Defendant-Appellant Miles\n\nGuo in the above-captioned appeal. I make this motion to be relieved as Mr. Guo’s counsel, and\n\nto substitute the Federal Defenders of New York as Mr. Guo’s appellate counsel.\n\n        2. I was appointed April 8, 2025, along with John F. Kaley, Esq., and Melinda Sarafa,\n\nEsq., in the District Court to represent Mr. Guo with respect to sentencing and related\n\nproceedings after he was convicted after trial and dismissed his retained counsel. I am counsel\n\nof record on this appeal because I filed the Notice of Appeal (Dkt 1.1).\n\n        3. Mr. Guo was sentenced June 29, 2026, to a prison term of 360 months, and was\n\nordered to forfeit $889 million (Dkt 856). The Judgment was filed July 2, 2026 (Dkt 860). Mr.\n\nGuo is currently serving his sentence at Federal Correctional Institution Schuykill.\n\n        4. I have spoken with Danny Habib, Chief of the Federal Defenders’ Appeals Unit, and\n\nhe has informed me that the Federal Defenders are willing and able to represent Mr. Guo on his\n\nappeal. The Federal Defenders represented Mr. Guo at his presentment in 2023, but were\n\nreplaced by retained counsel. However, Mr. Guo has filed for bankruptcy and qualifies for\n\nCase: 26-1853, 08/05/2026, DktEntry: 16.2, (2 of 3)\n\nappointed representation (as he did in the District Court following trial).\n\n       5. I have also been in contact with Assistant United States Attorney Ryan B. Finkel, who\n\nrequested that this motion include the government’s position stated as follows: “The\n\nGovernment does not oppose [the] motion to withdraw as counsel for Mr. Guo's appeal. We also\n\ndo not oppose the appointment of replacement counsel for Mr. Guo pursuant to the Criminal\n\nJustice Act. While the Government takes no position on who that counsel should be, it is the\n\nGovernment's position that the appointment should be made according to the Second Circuit’s\n\nestablished procedures under its CJA plan, as opposed to a substitution of counsel of Mr. Guo’s\n\nrequest.”\n\n       6. Mr. Guo has confirmed with Ms. Sarafa and me directly that he wishes to have me\n\n(and Mr. Kaley and Ms. Sarafa) relieved as counsel, and to have the Federal Defenders as\n\ncounsel for his appeal. Given the number of potential pretrial, trial, and sentencing issues\n\ninvolved, the complexity of the case (including the voluminous record of litigation and\n\ndiscovery), Mr. Kaley, Ms. Sarafa, and I are in agreement that review and representation by new\n\ncounsel would be appropriate in this case.\n\n       7. That is reinforced by the fact that we were appointed only during the sentencing\n\nphase, and for that purpose. In that context, the Federal Defenders have the capacity and\n\nresources to handle an appeal this complex, and with a record of this magnitude: the discovery\n\nconsists of 46 separate hard drives totaling 71 terabytes of data.\n\n       8. In addition, the appointment of counsel in the District Court was also affected by the\n\nnumber of attorneys on the CJA panel (particularly those with firm resources) who would be\n\nconflicted out of representation of Mr. Guo. An appeal of this magnitude would also require\n\ndevotion of significant CJA resources, which would be obviated by representation by the Federal\n\nCase: 26-1853, 08/05/2026, DktEntry: 16.2, (3 of 3)\n\nDefenders.\n\n       9. There is also precedent for appointment of the Federal Defenders for an appeal. In\n\nUnited States v. Avenatti, 19 Cr. 373 (PGG) (S.D.N.Y. 2019), the Federal Defenders substituted\n\non appeal for retained trial counsel. Likewise, the Federal Defenders were substituted on appeal\n\nin United States v. Martignoni, Docket No. 94-1187 (also a complex fraud prosecution), United\n\nStates v. Edwardo-Franco, 885 F.2d 1002 (2d Cir. 1989) (complex drug-trafficking prosecution),\n\nand United States v. Long, 917 F.2d 691 (2d Cir. 1990) (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt\n\nOrganizations Act [“RICO”] prosecution).\n\n       10. Accordingly, it is respectfully requested that the Court relieve me as Mr. Guo’s\n\ncounsel – and, if necessary, relieve Mr. Kaley and Ms. Sarafa as well, even though they do not\n\nappear on this Court’s docket in the case – and substitute the Federal Defenders as Mr. Guo’s\n\nappellate counsel.\n\n       WHEREFORE, it is respectfully requested that the Court grant the motion to relieve me,\n\nas well as Mr. Kaley and Ms. Sarafa, as counsel for Mr. Guo on this appeal, and substitute the\n\nFederal Defenders of New York as counsel for Mr. Guo.\n\n       I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my\n\nknowledge and belief. 28 U.S.C. §1746. Executed August 5, 2026\n\n                                                       /S/ Joshua L. Dratel\n\n                                                     JOSHUA L. DRATEL","body_zh":"Case: 26-1853, 08/05/2026, DktEntry: 16.1, (1 of 1)\nUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit（美国联邦第二巡回上诉法院）\n\nThurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse 40 Foley Square, New York, NY 10007 电话：212-857-8500\n\n动议信息声明\n\n案号：26-1853 案名简称：UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. GUO（美利坚合众国 诉 郭）\n\n动议事项：解除律师代理职务\n\n下文列明所寻求救济的准确、完整陈述：\n解除《刑事司法法案》（Criminal Justice Act，“CJA”）指定上诉律师的代理职务，并由联邦公设辩护人（Federal Defenders）接替担任代理律师。\n\n动议方：Miles Guo（郭文贵） 相对方：United States of America（美利坚合众国）\n\n原告 被告\n\n上诉人/申诉人 被上诉人/答辩人\n\n动议方律师：Joshua L. Dratel 相对方律师：联邦助理检察官 Ryan B. Finkel\n[律师姓名，附所属律所、地址、电话号码及电子邮件]\nLaw Offices of Dratel & Lewis（Dratel & Lewis 律师事务所） 纽约南区联邦检察官办公室（United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York）\n29 Broadway, Ste. 1412, New York, NY 10006 26 Federal Plaza, 37th Floor, New York, NY 10278\n(212) 732-0707, jdratel@dratellewis.com (212) 637-6612, Ryan.Finkel@usdoj.gov\n\n上诉来源法院-法官/机构：Analisa Torres 法官阁下，纽约南区联邦地区法院（S.D.N.Y.）\n\n请勾选相应方框： 适用于紧急动议、暂缓执行动议及上诉期间禁令动议：\n动议方是否已通知相对方律师（依据《本地规则》第 27.1 条规定）： 此项救济请求是否已在原审法院提出？ 是 否\n是 否（说明）： 本法院此前是否曾寻求此项救济？ 是 否\n政府立场见辩护律师声明第 5 段。\n请求的答复日期及紧急情况说明：\n\n相对方律师对动议的立场：\n不反对 反对 不知情\n相对方律师是否打算提交答复：\n是 否 不知情\n\n是否请求对动议进行口头辩论？ 是 否（口头辩论请求不一定会获准）\n\n上诉辩论日期是否已确定？ 是 否 若已确定，请输入日期：\n\n动议方律师签名：\n日期：8/5/26 送达方式：电子送达 其他 [附送达证明]\n\n表格 T-1080 (rev. 10-23)\n\nCase: 26-1853, 08/05/2026, DktEntry: 16.2, (1 of 3)\n\n美国联邦第二巡回上诉法院\n\n案号：26-1853\n美利坚合众国，\n被上诉人\n支持解除代理职务动议之声明\n– 诉 –\n郭文贵（Miles Guo），\n上诉人。（电子提交）\n\nJOSHUA L. DRATEL 根据 28 U.S.C. §1746，特此在承担伪证罪法律责任的前提下确认如下：\n\n1. 本人自 1984 年起获准在本法院执业，并已依据《刑事司法法案》（“CJA”）获指定在上述标题案件的上诉中代表被告兼上诉人郭文贵。本人提出本动议，请求解除本人作为郭先生律师的代理职务，并由纽约联邦公设辩护人（Federal Defenders of New York）接替担任郭先生的上诉代理律师。\n\n2. 在郭先生经审判被定罪并解聘其委托律师后，本人与 John F. Kaley 律师及 Melinda Sarafa 律师于 2025 年 4 月 8 日在地区法院获指定，就量刑及相关程序代表郭先生。因本人提交了上诉通知书（Dkt 1.1），故本人为本案上诉的记录在案律师。\n\n3. 郭先生于 2026 年 6 月 29 日被判处 360 个月监禁，并被命令没收 8.89 亿美元（Dkt 856）。判决书于 2026 年 7 月 2 日归档（Dkt 860）。郭先生目前正在斯库尔基尔联邦惩教所（Federal Correctional Institution Schuylkill）服刑。\n\n4. 本人已与联邦公设辩护人上诉部门主管 Danny Habib 进行沟通，他已告知本人，联邦公设辩护人愿意且有能力在上诉中代表郭先生。联邦公设辩护人曾在 2023 年郭先生首次过堂（presentment）时代表郭先生，但随后由其委托律师接替。然而，郭先生现已申请破产，符合获得指定辩护律师的资格（正如其在审判后于地区法院所符合的情形一样）。\n\nCase: 26-1853, 08/05/2026, DktEntry: 16.2, (2 of 3)\n\n5. 本人亦已与联邦助理检察官 Ryan B. Finkel 取得联系，其要求本动议载明政府立场如下：“政府不反对解除郭先生上诉代理律师职务的动议。我们亦不反对依据《刑事司法法案》为郭先生指定替换律师。虽然政府对该律师具体应为何人不持立场，但政府的立场是，该指定应当按照第二巡回法院在其 CJA 方案下确立的程序进行，而非应郭先生之请求进行律师替换。”\n\n6. 郭先生已直接向 Sarafa 女士及本人确认，其希望解除本人（以及 Kaley 先生和 Sarafa 女士）的代理职务，并由联邦公设辩护人担任其上诉代理律师。鉴于涉及的潜在审前、审判及量刑争议点数量众多，案情复杂（包括卷帙浩繁的诉讼与证据开示记录），Kaley 先生、Sarafa 女士及本人一致认为，由新律师进行审查和代理在本案中是适当的。\n\n7. 我们仅在量刑阶段获指定且仅为该目的获指定这一事实进一步强化了上述结论。在此背景下，联邦公设辩护人具备处理如此复杂且记录规模如此庞大的上诉案的能力与资源：本案的证据开示包含 46 个独立硬盘，数据总量达 71 太字节（TB）。\n\n8. 此外，地区法院指定律师的工作还受到了 CJA 名录律师（尤其是具备律所资源者）因利益冲突而无法代理郭先生的人数影响。如此大规模的上诉亦需要投入大量的 CJA 资源，而由联邦公设辩护人代理则可免除此类资源消耗。\n\nCase: 26-1853, 08/05/2026, DktEntry: 16.2, (3 of 3)\n\n9. 为上诉案件指定联邦公设辩护人亦有先例可循。在 United States v. Avenatti, 19 Cr. 373 (PGG) (S.D.N.Y. 2019) 一案中，联邦公设辩护人在上诉中替换了受委托的审判律师。同样，联邦公设辩护人在 United States v. Martignoni, Docket No. 94-1187（同为复杂的欺诈起诉案）、United States v. Edwardo-Franco, 885 F.2d 1002 (2d Cir. 1989)（复杂的毒品贩运起诉案）以及 United States v. Long, 917 F.2d 691 (2d Cir. 1990)（《反勒索及受贿组织法》[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act，“RICO”] 起诉案）的上诉中均被替换指定为代理律师。\n\n10. 因此，谨请求法院解除本人的郭先生代理律师职务——并在必要时一并解除 Kaley 先生和 Sarafa 女士的代理职务，即便他们未在本法院本案的卷宗目录中出现——并由联邦公设辩护人接替担任郭先生的上诉代理律师。\n\n综上所述，谨请求法院批准动议，解除本人以及 Kaley 先生和 Sarafa 女士在本案上诉中作为郭先生代理律师的职务，并由纽约联邦公设辩护人接替担任郭先生的代理律师。\n\n本人在承担伪证罪法律责任的前提下声明，据本人所知及所信，前述内容真实无误。28 U.S.C. §1746。签署于 2026 年 8 月 5 日\n\n/S/ Joshua L. Dratel\n\nJOSHUA L. DRATEL","key_entities":["Guo","Sarafa","Dratel","Kaley","Finkel","Miles Guo","Torres","Analisa Torres","RICO"],"ecf_references":[{"doc_number":1,"court":"2Cir"},{"doc_number":856,"court":"CTB"},{"doc_number":860,"court":"SDNY"}],"word_count":1129,"status":"published","published_at":null,"created_at":null,"updated_at":"2026-08-23 09:29:22"}