“The general existence of a pandemic” should not affect the terms of pretrial detention, according to DOJ lawyers.
But DOJ attorneys in the Southern District of California have continued fighting the release of even low-level, nonviolent offenders. A defendant’s “request for release from custody is based almost entirely on the speculative prospect of a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility where he is being detained pending trial,” U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer Jr.. “Defendant’s speculation is both unsubstantiated and unwarranted,” Brewer continued.
“Because the Court cannot provide [him] with a bench trial in the near future, he is in a situation where he must either remain in custody for several months or plead guilty involuntarily to this misdemeanor charge because that is the only way for him to be released,” San Diego federal defender Eric Fish. Even if the man loses his misdemeanor bench trial, there is no way to give him additional time in custody since he has already served more time than the maximum sentence.
The woman was denied pretrial release at her initial court appearance in December. She asked the court on March 18 to reconsider her pretrial detention in light of the COVID-19 public health crisis. The government opposed her request, but she was granted pretrial release last week with a $20,000 bond.
for pretrial detention or release, “but the general existence of a pandemic does not have significant bearing on that assessment.”that there were no reported COVID-19 cases at any facility operated by the Bureau of Prisons. But that’s no longer true. As of Friday, at least five federal prisoners have died after contracting COVID-19.
According to the bond motion filed in the 9th Circuit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Pettit told the man’s defense lawyer that although she understood his age put him at high-risk of COVID-19 complications, she believed he was safer in jail than if he were released, especially to a halfway house. The district judge rejected the man’s request and he remains in prison.
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