In an April 6, 2020 Memorandum for All Heads of Department Components and All United States Attorneys titled Litigating Pre-Trial Detention Issues During COVID-19 Pandemic, Attorney General Barr instructs all US Attorneys to "consider the medical risks associated with individuals being remanded into federal custody during the COVID-19 pandemic.” “Even with the extensive precautions we are currently taking, each time a new person is added to a jail, it presents at least some risk to the personnel who operate that facility and to the people incarcerated therein.” The memo is replete with caveats and directives that prosecutors should continue to follow the Bail Reform Act, including the Act's factors and presumptions.
One new class-action lawsuit filed in the in the Western District of Louisiana demands the release of hundreds of high-risk inmates at a federal FCC Oakdale in Louisiana. The complaint is here.
The Training Division is providing COVID-19 resources and materials, updated multiple times daily, to assist defenders and CJA panel attorneys understand and litigate issues releated to the COVID-19 pandemic.