Supreme Court and Congress Back in Session; Pending Legislation Update; Compassionate Release Updates; Covid Spreads in Federal Prisons, and Leadership Has "No Master Plan" to Stop It; Take Responsibility for Your own Health and Rehabilitation; Important Case Updates
by Derek Gilna
The Supreme Court (SC) officially returns to work this week, and Chief Justice John Roberts was already playing defense in response to an extensive (and damaging) investigation of direct financial conflicts of interest (already forbidden by law) by over 100 federal judges, which might result in new legislative oversight. Many judges have already recused themselves from pending matters. Query: What of those cases where the judge deciding a civil (or criminal) case came directly from the industry affected (or instigating) the criminal complaint?
Meanwhile, there are a host of critical cases already argued or due to be argued shortly, with direct impacts on the currently incarcerated. It's an open secret that the feds
have targeted physicians unaffiliated with a major hospital for drug prosecutions, and several of these cases have found their way to the high court.
The first two, Ruan v. US, No. 20-1410, and Kahn v. US, No. 21-5261, ask whether a physician alleged to have prescribed controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice may be convicted of unlawful distribution under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) without regard to whether, in good faith, he “reasonably believed” or “subjectively intended” that his prescriptions fall within that course of professional practice. Other similar cases are also anticipated to find their way to the SC.
These cases
are just the latest chapter in federal scapegoating blaming "small
fish" for the misconduct of a wealthy and politically influential
industry, in this instance the major drug manufacturers. (See: real estate
collapse of 2007-08 that almost tanked the economy-no banks or financiers
charged, only smaller developers.)
In the pending SC case of US v.
Now that "Build Back Better" is DOA, Congress is free to focus on the many pending sentence relief bills. The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved three bills co-sponsored by Durbin and Grassley. The first would give inmates the ability to petition for the sentencing changes established in 2018 to apply retroactively, among other provisions. The second would prohibit a judge from considering any conduct for which a defendant was acquitted in sentencing. Finally, the third would expand eligibility for a program that allows elderly prisoners to serve out the remainder of their sentences at home. That measure also includes a provision that would allow vulnerability to Covid-19 to qualify as a reason for compassionate release. I like the chances of all three pieces of legislation, and will report on their progress. House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), rumored to be the 81-year old Nancy Pelosi's eventual successor as Democratic leader, said that he expects both chambers will "be moving a series of bipartisan criminal justice reform bills.
In every
court compassionate release court petition I have worked with or read, the
government always cites its "Master Plan," that was in place in
January of 2020-you know, when the G was saying "wear a mask," "
don't wear a mask," "wear two masks, " etc. (You cannot make this stuff up. ) A cynic
would say, "If their lips are moving, they are lying," but I think it
is more like, "We have no idea what to do, so we are making it up."
That is the only explanation for the "mix and match" (of infected and
uninfected) strategy that has unfolded at Alderson, Aliceville, Carswell,
The Delta variant, which had been the dominant strain in the past few months, accounts for 41.1 percent of all U.S. COVID-19 cases as of Dec. 25, the CDC public health agency’s data projections showed. “Setting aside the question of how the initial estimate was so inaccurate, if CDC’s new estimate of Omicron prevalence is precise, then it suggests that a good portion of the current hospitalizations we’re seeing from COVID may still be driven by Delta infections,” former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on Tuesday. www.cdc.gov.
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I strongly recommend that you monitor your own health carefully, as the prison medical system warning lights are all blinking red. Few outside trips for specialized tests or treatment are occurring, and there are many undiagnosed serious illnesses, including terminal cancer, organ failure, and cardiac and blood pressure issues that are not being noted on medical records, as a result of negligence, or-hopefully not-policy, perhaps to reduce expenses. If there are unexplained pains, bleeding, dizziness, or other noticeable changes to your health, complain and document, and let your advocates know. In US v
Sharp, 20-12574, (11th Cir. 12-21), the
Eleventh Circuit vacated defendant's 110-month sentence for possessing a
firearm as a convicted felon. The court held that the government did not
waive its argument that defendant's conviction qualified as a predicate crime
of violence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), where, as here, the
argument was foreclosed by binding precedent at the time of sentencing and
the change in law occurred within the time to file a notice of appeal.
Therefore, the court need not determine whether a conviction for robbery
under In the case of Rucker v. Giffin, 997 F/3d 88 (2d Cir. 2021), in a federal appeal of a state case dismiss for failure to exhaust administrative remedies, the court held that the Petitioner's medical condition, which prevented him from following the proper schedule for filing, was excused by his condition, and the prison must accommodate his illness or disability, reversed and remanded. Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you
know better, do better." MAYA ANGELOU Be not afraid, and lot not your heart be troubled. Derek Gilna, Director, JD, (De Paul Law School , 1975),
MARJ, ( federallc_esp@yahoo.com, Spanish newsletter, but NO inquiries. Blog: "Derek Gilna's Federal Criminal Justice
Musings and Reflections."
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