GENERAL ORDER 22-01 (FIRST AMENDMENT) IN RE:… — USA v. Thomas et al (Dkt. 428)

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General Order 22-01 (First Amendment), In re: Court Operations Under the Exigent Circumstances Created by COVID-19, Document 428, filed 03/01/22 in United States v. Thomas et al., Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The Order states that all large, multi-defendant trials are suspended in all divisions through and including April 30, 2022, defining a large, multi-defendant trial as a single trial with three or more defendants unless the presiding judge determines otherwise. It states that the time of any continuance entered as a result of the Order is excluded under the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A), from February 1, 2022 through and including April 30, 2022. It is dated the 1st day of March 2022 over the name of Chief United States District Judge Batten

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA 
FILED IN CLERK'S OFFICE 
U.S.D.C. • Atlanta 
MAR - 1 2022 
KE~
·_"iflMER. Clerk 
By: ,.,., 1, 1m_peputy ~ erl<. 
IN RE: COURT OPERATIONS UNDER 
THE EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES 
CREATED BY COVID-19 
GENERAL ORDER 22-01 
First Amendment 
ORDER 
This First Amendment to General Order 22-01 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. 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 remained 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 response, on February 1, 2022, the Court entered 
an order suspending all large, multi-defendant trials through and including March 
31,2022. 
While COVID-19 vaccines are available to the public, only about 55% 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 
Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS     Document 428     Filed 03/01/22     Page 1 of 4

of the disease. 1 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 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. 
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, while 
substantially less than the recent peak, remains higher than when the Court first 
suspended jury trials in 2020. 
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 April 30, 2022. 
For purposes of this Order, a large, multi-defendant trial is defined as a single trial 
with three or more defendants, unless the presiding judge determines otherwise. 
1 See COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html (last visited March 1, 2022); Omicron Variant: 
What You Need to Know, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/variants/omicron-variant.html (last visited March 1, 2022). 
2 
Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS     Document 428     Filed 03/01/22     Page 2 of 4

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. § 
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 April 30, 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 and General Order 22-01, 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. § 3161(h)(7)(A), as the Court finds that the 
3 
Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS     Document 428     Filed 03/01/22     Page 3 of 4

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-
19 and the manner in which COVID-19 has impacted operations for case participants 
and the Court. 
SO ORDERED this 1st day of March 2022. 
T MOTHY C. BATTEN, SR. 
CHIEF UNITED STA TES DISTRICT JUDGE 
4 
Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS     Document 428     Filed 03/01/22     Page 4 of 4

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