SCOTUS in Recess, Congress Approaches Adjournment, Covid-19 Crisis Continues
by Derek Gilna
Thousands
of personal crisis are unfolding in federal prisons as DOJ continues to fumble
its response to COVID-19. At places like
FCI Seagoville, there 61 active cases among inmates, and 882 cases as of
Tuesday, about 48% of the population. Carswell's cases are approaching 200 and
growing rapidly at a facility filled with the medically frail.
Staff are also getting sick, and when tempers grow frayed in
places like FCI Gilmer, prisoners are also made to suffer. Mass testing is the only answer to containing
the crisis, but it has only happened in a few areas, since DOJ appears to fear
negative publicity from the high number of positives it would certainly reveal.
To file a
Compassionate Release petition in federal court, you MUST file for it with the
warden, and either be rejected or wait 30 days. Note that some wardens refuse
to give denials in writing, perhaps to slow down the court filing process, and
in that instance you must confirm via email the date you submitted the request,
and when you received the denial. This
is important. You DO NOT need to go
through the BP process.
The various
district court clerk offices are struggling to keep up with the crush of
filings, leading to record delays in getting new cases and other filings posted
on PACER. Despite these delays, the
federal prison population is still dropping, and now stands at 159,000.
Prisoner population is declining at roughly 1000 persons per week.
If you want
to stay up to date on what is happening nationally with Covid subscribe to
Prison Legal News. They currently have a special going for prisoners who have
never been PLN subscribers before. $1 gets you a six issue trial subscription.
They will take 2 stamps as payment too. An annual subscription is $30 for 12
issues. Their address is: Prison Legal News, P.O. Box
1151 , Lake Worth , FL
33460
Senator
Rand Paul, no fan of the federal government or its "justice" system,
argued this week that " Congress could make significant progress by
repealing conspiracy laws that result in easier convictions and cruel prison
sentences that either do not fit the crime or apply when no crime has been
committed at all."
In the
circuits, US
In an interesting white collar case, in US v. Obagi, et al,
the USCOA for the 9th Circuit reversed
convictions for federal mortgage fraud, and remanded for further proceedings,
in a case in which the government disclosed after the close of evidence
information impeaching a government witness in violation of Brady v. Maryland 7-17-20 ).
How can we
assist you today? Remember, regardless of your past, you deserve a future. Let not your heart be troubled.
Federal Legal Center, Inc., Derek A. Gilna, JD< Director,
(Also in Indiana dgilna1948@yahoo.com
Blogging at Derek Gilna's Criminal Justice Blog
