GENERAL ORDER 22-01 IN RE: COURT OPERATIONS UNDER THE EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES CREATED BY… — USA v. Thomas et al (Dkt. 421)

Summary

General Order 22-01, In re: Court Operations Under the Exigent Circumstances Created by COVID-19, Document 421, stamped Filed 02/04/22, signed by Chief United States District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and filed in Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS. The order recites that the pandemic has affected court operations since March of 2020 and cites vaccination and case-rate data. It suspends all large, multi-defendant trials, those with three or more defendants, in all divisions through and including March 31, 2022. The continuance time is excluded under the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. 3161(h)(7)(A), from February 1, 2022 through and including March 31, 2022.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Record facts

Full text

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA 
FILED IN CLERK'S OFFICE 
U.S.D.C. - Atlanta 
FEB - 1 2022 
KE~ 
p . 1/VE\MER, Clerk 
By: Y fYl/2 Oepuly (2!erk 
IN RE: COURT OPERATIONS UNDER 
THE EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES 
CREATED BY COVID-19 
GENERAL ORDER 22-01 
ORDER 
This General Order is issued in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic 
within the Northern District of Georgia. The pandemic has impacted court operations 
in this district since March of 2020. While COVID-19 vaccines are available to the 
public, only about 54% of Georgians are fully vaccinated. Moreover, information 
from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that vaccine effectiveness 
wanes over time and that vaccines are less effective at preventing illness caused by 
Omicron and other variants of the disease. 1 Data from the Georgia Department of 
Public Health shows that the current seven-day moving average of total new 
COVID-19 cases per day in Georgia is among the highest recorded at any time 
during the pandemic. 
The President's declaration of a national emergency under the National 
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.) due to COVID-19 remains in effect, as 
1 See COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html (last visited February 1, 2022); Omicron Variant: 
What You Need to Know, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/variants/omicron-variant.html (last visited February 1, 2022). 
Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS     Document 421     Filed 02/04/22     Page 1 of 4

do the findings of the Judicial Conference of the United States that emergency 
conditions due to this national emergency have materially affected and will 
materially affect the functioning of the federal courts generally. While treatments 
are improving, there continues to be no known cure for COVID-19. 
From March 16, 2020, through May 2, 2021, the Court's General Order 20-
01 suspended all jury trials to protect the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Jury trials have since resumed but have been and must remain small to allow for 
social distancing in district courtrooms. In addition, the district's largest courtroom 
has been reserved for conducting jury selection in a socially distanced manner and 
has been unavailable for large, multi-defendant trials. 
In recognition of the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in this 
district and the need to continue to conduct trials in a socially distanced manner, IT 
IS HEREBY ORDERED that all large, multi-defendant trials are suspended in all 
divisions of the Northern District of Georgia through and including March 31 , 2022. 
For purposes of this Order, a large, multi-defendant trial is defined as a single trial 
with three or more defendants, unless the presidingjudge determines otherwise. 
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the time period of any continuance 
entered as a result of this Order ( whether that continuance causes a pre-indictment 
delay or a pre-trial delay) shall be excluded under the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 
2 
Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS     Document 421     Filed 02/04/22     Page 2 of 4

3161 (h)(7)(A), as the Court finds that the ends of justice served by the continuance 
outweigh the interests of the parties and the public in a speedy trial. Absent further 
Order of the Court or any individual judge, the period of exclusion shall be from 
February 1, 2022, through and including March 31, 2022. The Court may extend the 
period of exclusion as circumstances warrant. This Order and period of exclusion 
are incorporated by reference as a specific finding under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A) 
in the record of each pending large, multi-defendant trial where the Speedy Trial Act 
applies. See Zedner v. United States, 547 U.S. 489, 506-07 (2006). The periods of 
exclusion in the Court's prior Orders on this subject, General Order 20-01 and its 
subsequent amendments, are likewise incorporated by reference as a specific finding 
under 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A) in the record of each pending case where the 
Speedy Trial Act applies. 
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if a continuance is granted due to 
COVID-19 in any case in which the Speedy Trial Act applies (not limited to large, 
multi-defendant trials), then the time period of that continuance shall be excluded 
under the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 316l(h)(7)(A), as the Court finds that the 
ends of justice served by the continuance outweigh the interests of the parties and 
the public in a speedy trial, given the need to protect case participants from COVID-
3 
Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS     Document 421     Filed 02/04/22     Page 3 of 4

19 and the manner in which COVID-19 has impacted operations for case participants 
and the Court. 
TIMOTHY C. BATTEN, SR. 
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 
4 
Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS     Document 421     Filed 02/04/22     Page 4 of 4

File and source

File

gov.uscourts.gand.292218.421.0.pdf

Size

165,788 bytes

SHA-256

7b03d4e025ec50527e2407708cbe6675df557047587cb998ca0bf5223f4238d6

Our copy

gov.uscourts.gand.292218.421.0.pdf

Original

PACER (login required)