Order as to Antonio D. Hosey. Tenth Amendment to General Order — USA v. Hosey (Dkt. 11, N.D. Ga.)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia · No. 1:20-cr-00396-LMM · Doc. 11 · 2021-01-27 · Docket on CourtListener

Full text

FILED IN CLERK’S OFFICE
U.S DC.
- Atlanta
tJNITEI) STATES I)ISTRICT COURT
JAN 2 / 2027
NORTH ERN I)ISTRICT OF C Et)RC IA
JAMN. HAffEJjer
By:7111
IN RE: COURT OPERATIONS UNI)ER
THE EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES
GENERAL ORI)ER 20-01
CREATED BY COVII)-19 AND RELATED
Tenth Amendment
CORONAVIRtJS
ORDER
(leneral Order 2t)—0 I
. dated March
1 6. 202t). as amended by Orders dated March
30. 2020: April 30, 2020: May 26, 2020: .JuIy
1. 2020: July 10, 2020: August 3. 2020:
September
1 . 2t)2t): September 28, 2t)2t), and I)ecember 8, 2020. addresses Court
operations lbr the United States District Court for the Northern I)istrict of Georgia under
the exigent circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic and the spread oICOVID
19. The Ninth Amendment to General Order 20-0 1, entered December 8, 2020. extended
the time periods specified in the Order through and including February 28. 2021.
In anticipation of the expiration of its Ninth Amendment to General Order 20-0 1,
the Court again considers wheiher national, state. and local Ct)VID-19 conditions have
sufficiently improved to permit the sa1i resumption of federal jury trials within the
Northern District’s courthouses. Although the daily COVI 1)— 19 inlection rates and test
positi’ ity nitcs appear to he declining both nationally and in Georgia Irom their post—
holiday highs. the num hers for each remain extremely high and contitlue to lir exceed the
high rates ol inlection experienced during the past summet’. When the Court entered its
Ninth Amendment. the seven—day average of’ new (‘OVI I)— 19 cases in Georgia
as more
than 4500 cases per day. l)espite a recent decline. Georgia’s daily average for new
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(‘()Vll)— 19 eases lot the past seven days is now repotted at 7.354 cases per day. Georgia’s
test positivity tate also has tiseii to dC)tihle—digits and tanks eighth highest in the
1. Jnited
States. (leotula hospital admissions pet
I 00 beds is repotted as kmrth ranked nationally.
ihese numbers hit exceed those that existed when the Court entered its oriLunal order in
March and are amonii, the highest since the pandemic was declared. In its latest report this
month, the White I lotise COrona Virtis lask lorce reports that more than 9% ot(ieorgias
1 59 counties have high levels ol community transmission and characterizes conditions in
Georaia as consistent with “a lull pandemic resurgence.”
Conditions at the district level are not more favorable. Three counties in the
Northern District: Gwinnett. Fulton. and Cobb. account for 24.7% of the ne cases in
Georgia.
While the COVID-19 vaccination program is now underway nationally and in
Georgia. it is proceeding more sloly than anticipated. The Centers br I)iscasc Control
and Prevention reports that
1 .235.775 doses of the vaccine have been distributed to
Georgia, or 11,639 doses per 100,000 population. Approximately 534,161
people in
Georgia have received one or more closes of the vaccine, or 5.03 1 people per
I t)0.00()
population. (Ieorgia is in Phase
I a
of its vaccination plan. and it could he several weeks
- or longer
- hcft)re accines are available to the general public. While the eventual impact
On transm iSSIOfl 01 the C( )Vl 1)— 1 9 in lict ion remains unkmw ii. at
I cast six cases of the
C()VID— 19 variant strain have not been identi tied in (leorgia.
As noted in previous ( )rders. the President’s declaration ol
ii national emergency
under the National Emergencies Act (50 t LS.C. § 1601 et seq.) clue to C( )VlI)— 19 has not
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cIianed inr have the lindi I1US
(ii (lie J udicial (‘on lIrence ol’ the
t Jn ited States that
eiiiei’cency conditions due to this national emergency have materially alThctecl and will
materially affl..ct the Itinctioninc!. ol the fl.deral courts aenerally.
As stated in our previous amendments, the Court has suspended jul-y trials in the
hope that COVI 1)—I 9 could be contained, and its threat eliminated. [)espite months ol’
intense preventative meastires. however, the significant threat presented by COVII)— 19
within the
I. Jnited States and in Georgia continues. While the introdtiction 01 vaccines
represents a signi Ileant progress in the light against COVI D-] 9, a signi licant decline in the
current COVID- 19 intection rate within the Distt’ict and an increase in the number of
people vaccinated against the disease is still needed beft)re this Court can sal’ely resume
jury trials. The Court does not Foresee either a suflicient decline in infi.etions or a sttfficient
increase in vaccinations before the end of February to resume jury trials in tvlarch.
Consequently. given the seriousness of the current conditions at the national. state.
and district levels, the Court concludes that a Iitrther extension of the suspension of jury
trials is required to allow conditions ithin the district to sufficiently improve so that
counsel can adequately prepare l& trial,
and the health and safel) of (lie public, those
appearing beibre
the
Court.
and
the
Court
itsell’ can
be aclequatek
salguarded.
Significantly, extension of the suspension ot jury’ trials also will allo greater numbers ol
the bench. bar, and ptihlic to receive ttie (‘()Vl [)J9 vaccine heliwe jury trials resume.
Fherek)re. IT (S HEREBY ORDERED that General Order 2t)-t) 1, as amended. is
Further amended to extend the time periods speci lied therein through and including the date
olApril 4. 2021.
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IT IS Fti RTH ER
)kI)EREI) that while there vil I he no civil or criminal jury
trials in any division of the Northern
I )istriet o I’ ( ieoruia uiiti I a 11cr April 4. 202 I . grand
jurors niay continue to he summoned and grand jury proceedings may continue to he held:
and summonses may be issued to pmspective jurors br civil and criminal jury trials
schedtiled to bein abler April 4. 2021
IT IS FURTH ER ORDERED that the time period ol an contintiance entered as
a result oFthis Order (whether that continuance causes a pre—inclietment delay or a pre—trial
delay) shall be excluded under the Speedy Trial Ad, 18
1 J.S.(’. § 3161(h)(7)(A), as the
Court finds that the ends of justice served by taking that action 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 March 23. 2020. through and
including April 4. 2021. The Court may extend the period of exclusion as circumstances
may warrant. ‘[his 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 case where the
Speedy Irial Act applies. See Zedrn’r v. United States, 547 U.S. 489, 506-07 (2t)06). The
periods of exclusion iii the (ourt s prior Orders on this subject. General Order 20—01 and
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its stihse.iiient iinc’iidnen1s urc, Ii ke ise
I nctwponited hv re hreiice Is i speci lie hnding
under I
t J.S.C.
3 I 6 If h )( 7 )( A ) in the record oleach pending ease x’ here the Speedy trial
Act applies.
SO ORDERED this
7 day oF Janumy 202 I
THOMAS W. THRASH, JR.
CHIEF tJNJTED STATES DISTRICT .JLJDGE
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