• US v. Tony Collins, 1:10-cr-00336-CCB (Mar. 30, 2020) (Memorandum), Dkt. 1038
    Court granted defendant's motion for reduction in sentence pursuant to 404 of the First Step Act to time served. Defendant was originally sentenced on February 2, 2012 as a career offender to 160-months in prison following a Rule 11(c)(1)(C) plea on October 18, 2011, for a conspiracy to (which ended in June 2010) to distribute and possess with intent to distribute both 50 grams or more of crack cocaine and 5 kilograms or more of powder cocaine within 1000 feet of a public housing facility. Defendant "is a non-violent drug offender who would be eligible for release from BOP custody in December 2020," but requested a reduction to time served so that he can be released to a VOA. After determining that the defendant was eligible for a sentence reduction and considering 3553 factors, the Court noted that it "must acknowledge the extraordinary circumstances present in the community as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic," notwithstanding the fact that the defendant had not proffered "an underlying health condition which makes him more susceptible to the effects of the virus." In footnote 2, the Court rejects the government's argument that the defendant's motion was an "'end run' around the court's general lack of jurisdiction over release from VOA. To the contrary, a lack of jurisdiction over sentenced prisoners generally in no way supports a failure to exercise jurisdiction that has been given to the Court by Congress under the First Step Act."

  • State of Georgia v. Denton, No. 04R-330 (Sup. Ct. Ware Cty. Apr 8, 2020) (Consent Order Releasing on Bond)

    • State of Georgia v. Denton, No. 04R-330 (Sup. Ct. Ware Cty. Apr 6, 2020) (Emergency Motion for Immediate Release)
      Denton was sentenced to life imprisonment 14 years ago but was granted a new trial as her conviction was based on unreliable "bitemark" evidence at trial.  Attached is a letter from defense counsel noting the State's delay in responding and copying major media outlets. 
       

  • Jeff v. Rose, No. 17-15009 (9th Cir. Apr. 9, 2020)
    (Order Granting Motion for Release, Emergency Motion for Release, Opposition, Reply). Dkt. 59-61 
    Ninth Circuit grants habeas petitioner's emergency motion for release finding that the State's opposition to Rose's motion does not meaningfully contest that the Rule 23(c) factors governing weigh in favor of release.

  • US v. Hector, No. 20-4183 (4th Cir. Mar. 27, 2020)
    Order of Remand to Reconsider Denial of Stay Imprisonment Pending Appeal, Dkt. 17 
    Fourth Circuit orders remand of district court's denial of release pending appeal "for the limited purpose of having the district court consider in the first instance the severity of the risk that the COVID-19 virus poses to appellant given her existing medical conditions"

    • US v. Hector, No. 2:18-cr-0003-JPJ-PMS (WDVA Mar 27, 2020)
      Order Reversing Prior Denial of Stay Imprisonment Pending Appeal, Dkt. 748
      granting release pending sentencing after Fourth Circuit remanded detention decision requiring court to specifically consider extraordinary danger posed by COVID-19 to folks in prison

  • US v. Kennedy, No. 5:18-cr-20315-JEL-EAS (ED MI Mar 27, 2020)
    Order Temporarily Revoking Detention, Dkt. 77 Release warranted under 18 U.S.C. SS 3142(i)(4), both due to (1) risk of COVID-19 and (2) difficulty preparing defense while detained due to limits facility placed in response to COVID-19. Good language about how if courts wait for a case in any specific facility it will be too late: "waiting for either Defendant to have a confirmed case of COVID-19, or for there to be a major outbreak in Defendant's facility, would render meaningless this request for release. Such a failure to act could have devastating consequences for Defendant and would create serious medical and security challenges to the existing prison population and the wider community." Id. at 13.

  • US v. Michaels, No. 8:160-cr-76-JVS (C.D. Cal. Mar. 26, 2020)
    Minute Order, Dkt. 1061 " Michaels has demonstrated that the Covid-19 virus and its effects in California constitute 'another compelling reason'" justifying temporary release under SS 3142

  • US v. Garlock, No. 1:18-cr-00418-VC, 2020 WL 1439980 (ND Cal Mar 25, 2020)
    Order Deferring Surrender Date, Dkt. ss
    Sua sponte decision extending defendant's surrender date from June 12, 2020 to September 1, 2020. No apparent health risks. "By now it almost goes without saying that we should not be adding to the prison population during the COVID-19 pandemic if it can be avoided. Several recent court rulings have explained the health risks--to inmates, guards, and the community at large--created by large prison populations. (See, e.g., United States v. Stephens, No. 15-cr-95-AJN, 2020 WL 1295155, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 19, 2020); United States v. Barkman, No. 3:19-cr-0052-RCJ-WGC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45628 (D. Nev. Mar. 17, 2020); In the Matter of Extradition of Toledo Manrique, No. 3:19-mj-71055-MAG-1 (TSH), 2020 WL 1307109 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 19, 2020). The chaos has already begun inside federal prisons--inmates and prison employees are starting to test positive for the virus, quarantines are being instituted, visits from outsiders have been suspended, and inmate movement is being restricted even more than usual. See, e.g., Sadie Gurman, Bureau of Prisons Imposes 14-Day Quarantine to Contain Coronavirus, Wall Street Journal (March 24, 2020)