Silk Road Operator Ross Ulbricht Seeks Fresh Trial

Ross Ulbricht, the creator and operator of the online dark market Silk Road, is seeking a new trial. Ulbricht was was found guilty on a total of seven charges, which include narcotics trafficking on the Internet, conspiracy to commit money laundering and computer hacking. He was sentenced to life in prison in May.

Ulbricht's defense has filed a 145-page argument for a new trial to the U.S. Court of Appeals. The defense has put forth an important argument that the court hid key evidence, in particular the actions of federal agents Carl Mark Force IV and Shaun Bridges amid the federal investigation of the Silk Road, CoinDesk reported.

“To a significant degree the extent, and in some respects the nature, of Force’s misconduct—as well as Bridges’s participation altogether—was hidden by the government from the defense (and the Court) in this case until after trial,” Wired quoted Ulbricht’s lead attorney Joshua Dratel. “Contrary to the government’s claims and the Court’s decision, the evidence of Force’s (and Bridges’s) corruption was both material and exculpatory.”

Moreover, the legality of some of the searches and seizures conducted during the federal investigation has also been questioned. The defense said that Ulbricht's rights to due process and a fair trial had been denied.