Court filing
Criminal Complaint — United States v. Eric Shibley (Dkt. 66, W.D. Wash. No. 2:20-cr-00174)
Filed February 9, 2021 in Shibley; one of 139 filings from this case.
Record facts
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington |
|---|---|
| Filed | 2021-02-09 |
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington · No. 2:20-cr-00174-JCC · Doc. 66 · 2021-02-09 · Docket on CourtListener
Full text
Honorable John Coughenour
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE
Defendant Eric Shibley, by and though undersigned counsel, presents this
memorandum in advance of the court’s scheduled status hearing on February 10.
Procedural history
Dr. Shibley is currently charged by indictment with wire and bank fraud and
money laundering arising from various loan applications he made in the spring of 2020 in
connection with the federal Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury
Disaster Loan program.
Originally charged by complaint, he was arrested on June 30, 2020, and released
on bond at his initial appearance the same day. dkt. #5. He was re-arrested on September
16, 2020, following two domestic incidents that resulted in a formal bond revocation on
September 28. dkt. #28. Soon thereafter, on October 15, Dr. Shibley was indicted on the
current charges and arraigned on October 22. dkt. #31, #37.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
v.
ERIC SHIBLEY,
Defendant.
No. CR20-174 JCC
DEFENSE STATUS
MEMORANDUM
1
Michael Nance
Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 11276
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(206) 624-3211
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC Document 66 Filed 02/09/21 Page 1 of 5
In a November 12 minute order the court vacated the pretrial motions deadline and
directed the parties to appear at a status conference. dkt. #43. In the meantime the
defense moved to reopen the detention issue and for Dr. Shibley’s release on bond. dkt.
#46. Following a hearing on that issue on November 20, the motion was denied. dkt.
#56, #58. The defense appealed the ruling. dkt. #59.
The parties filed responses to the court’s minute order requesting input on “what
measures, if any, the Court should take to address Mr. Shibley’s health”. dkt. #49, #52,
#57. At a status hearing on November 25, 2020, the Court ordered a mental health
evaluation of Dr. Shibley to be conducted by the FDC's medical staff and stayed
consideration of his appeal of the detention order. The trial date was vacated. dkt. #61.
On February 1, 2021, the parties received from the court a copy of the evaluation
of Dr. Shibley submitted by FDC psychologist, Cynthia Low, Ph.D. Both parties soon
noticed that the evaluation contained pointed references to various communications over
the BOP CorrLinks email system between Dr. Shibley and his attorneys, including the
undesigned. The parties subsequently conferred and agreed to submit to the court (and
1
abide by) a revised version of Dr. Low’s evaluation redacted of any references to
attorney-client communication.
To their credit, government prosecutors promptly notified undersigned counsel of the
1
email references and indicated that they had immediately stopped reading the report to
avoid seeing potentially privileged material. It was referred to a special DOJ “filter
attorney”, otherwise unconnected to the case, who worked with undersigned counsel to
properly redact the evaluation of this material. The redacted evaluation has been, or soon
will be, provided to the court for proper consideration.
2
Michael Nance
Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 11276
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(206) 624-3211
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC Document 66 Filed 02/09/21 Page 2 of 5
The competency issue
The defense requests that the redacted version of the evaluation be substituted in
place of the original evaluation and filed under seal. At this time, without the need of a
formal competency hearing and without waiving other potential trial defenses arising
under Criminal Rule 12.2, the defense stipulates to Dr. Shibley’s present-day competence
to stand trial.
Appeal of detention ruling
On the issue of detention the defense has no new information or argument to add
to the record already established before the U.S. Magistrate Judge in pleadings and
hearings conducted on September 28, 2020 (dkt. #22, 28) and November 20, 2020 (dkt.
#46, #53, #56).
Trial setting
Even without Covid pandemic considerations, this case is extended and complex
and would normally justify an extended continuance. It involves novel issues of fact and
law. The discovery, in the form of bank and financial records, is voluminous and still
forthcoming. A protective order prohibits the sharing of much of this information with
Dr. Shibley and face-to-visits, at which this type of evidence could practically be shown
and discussed, have not been possible. Other circumstances, some perhaps obvious from
Dr. Low’s evaluation, make normal attorney/client communication difficult or
3
Michael Nance
Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 11276
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(206) 624-3211
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC Document 66 Filed 02/09/21 Page 3 of 5
impractical. Dr. Shibley has also contracted and survived Covid 19 while in custody but
still harbors residual effects.
Rather than simply schedule a trial date in an uncertain time the defense requests
that the court set a new status hearing shortly after the court shutdown directive of
General Order 18-20 expires on March 31, 2021. At that hearing the parties and the court
will be better informed on the public health concerns posed by the pandemic and on
relevant issues that might factor into an appropriate trial setting.
Respectfully submitted this 9th day of February, 2021.
/s/ Michael Nance, WSBA #13933
Defense Attorney
4
Michael Nance
Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 11276
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(206) 624-3211
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC Document 66 Filed 02/09/21 Page 4 of 5
Certificate of Service
I hereby certify that on the 9th day of February, 2021, I electronically filed the
foregoing with the clerk of the court using the CM/ECF system. Notice of this filing will
be sent electronically to counsel of record for other parties.
/s/ Michael Nance,WSBA # 13933
email: michaelnancelaw@gmail.com
5
Michael Nance
Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 11276
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(206) 624-3211
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC Document 66 Filed 02/09/21 Page 5 of 5File and source
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