Latest SDFLA order

Here is the order referenced in the previous post.  The most important part:

All jury trials in the Southern District of Florida scheduled to begin on or after March 30, 2020, are continued until July 6, 2020. The Court may issue other Orders concerning future continuances as necessary and appropriate.

Same thing with grand juries. Prosecutors, how will you be bringing cases in the meantime? Through criminal complaints? And then preliminary hearings?

Here's a bit of good news... David Lat is home and better. He was on the Today Show:

@DavidLat did a great job on the @TODAYshow this morning. https://t.co/lSAFSOiPCt

— David Oscar Markus (@domarkus) April 6, 2020

And for another bit of zen, check this out:

john krasinski and emily blunt surprising a hamilton fan by having the entire original broadway cast join their zoom and sing for her is absolutely the best thing i have ever seen. pic.twitter.com/TLmCsbIk6n

— d (@melissafumeros) April 6, 2020

All jury trials and grand jury proceedings continued until July 6 (UPDATED WITH BARR MEMO)

The court issued another corona-order today, postponing all jury trials and grand jury proceedings until July 6.  The order is not up on the website yet, but I will link to it as soon as it is.

UPDATE Friday (4/3) evening — AG Bill Barr issued this memo, urging the release of at-risk prisoners to home confinement.  Serious question to the prosecutors who read the blog — why are so many prosecutors stridently opposing the requests?

Judge Milton Hirsch on "emergencies"

This order has it all: a Judge Edward Davis story, Shakespeare, and a dose of reality during the virus.

Not a real legal emergency ... by David Oscar Markus on Scribd

BOP to Phase 5 — full lockdown

Here’s the update from BOP:

Today, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) ordered the implementation of Phase 5 of its COVID-19 Action Plan, effective tomorrow, April 1, 2020. In response to a growing number of quarantine and isolation cases in our facilities, the BOP will take the following actions immediately to further mitigate the exposure and spread of COVID-19. 

• For a 14-day period, inmates in every institution will be secured in their assigned cells/quarters to decrease the spread of the virus. This modification to our action plan is based on health concerns, not disruptive inmate behavior.

• During this time, to the extent practicable, inmates should still have access to programs and services that are offered under normal operating procedures, such as mental health treatment and education.

• In addition, the Bureau is coordinating with the United States Marshals Service (USMS) to significantly decrease incoming movement during this time.

• After 14 days, this decision will be reevaluated and a decision made as to whether or not to return to modified operations.

• Limited group gathering will be afforded to the extent practical to facilitate commissary, laundry, showers, telephone, and Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System (TRULINCS) access.

Starting in January 2020, the BOP implemented its Pandemic Influenza contingency plan, modified as an Action Plan for COVID-19. The BOP continues to revise and update its action plan in response to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in response to the latest guidance from experts at the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

News & Notes

1.  Our District continues to shut down operations.  No more grand juries until April 27.  And, in general, no more in person hearings in criminal cases for 90 days. Video conferencing instead.  For pleas and sentencings, defendants can opt for continuances or video hearings.

2.   In California, Elizabeth Henriquez will proceed to her sentencing in the Varsity Blues case by video conference.

3. The 11th Circuit is in session this week, but it will be conducting oral argument by teleconference (not video). You can listen live here. I will be arguing on Friday. Should be interesting.

4. BOP suffered its first prisoner death over the weekend. Patrick Jones was 49 at FCI Oakdale in Louisiana. He had applied for a sentence reduction under the First Step Act but was denied. I wonder how prosecutors who are opposing these motions will feel when these people get sick and die in prison.

5. Okay, okay, enough with the bad news. Some good news! Former SDFLA AUSA Michael Sherwin, who has been working as Associate Deputy Attorney General on national security matters, has been named Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney in DC. It's a big deal. Congrats to one of the good guys!