USVI Public Records

Document text

DISTRICT COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS DIVISION OF ST. THOMAS AND ST. JOHN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. JOHN JACKSON, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) Criminal No. 2019-15 ) ) ) ) ) ATTORNEYS: Gretchen Shappert, United States Attorney Everard Potter, AUSA Donna Rainwater, AUSA United States Attorney’s Office St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. For the United States of America, Richard Coughlin, Federal Public Defender Kia Danielle Sears, AFPD Melanie Lark Turnbull, AFPD Office of the Federal Public Defender St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. For John Jackson. ORDER GÓMEZ, J. Before the Court is the trial in this matter, currently scheduled for April 13, 2020. For the reasons stated herein, the time to try this case is extended up to and including July 20, 2020. On March 17, 2020, the Chief Judge of the District Court of the Virgin Islands entered a general order responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chief Judge noted that the pandemic had Case: 3:19-cr-00015-RAM-RM Document #: 94 Filed: 03/31/20 Page 1 of 4 United States v. Jackson Criminal No. 2019-15 Order been declared a national emergency and a public health emergency by the President of the United States. The Chief Judge also noted that the Governor of the Virgin Islands had declared a state of emergency. The Chief Judge found it necessary to “take reasonable and prudent actions” “in order to further public health and safety, and the health and safety of Court personnel, counsel, litigants, other case participants, jurors, persons with other business at the courthouse, and the general public.” Mar. 17, 2020, D.V.I. General Order at 1-2, https://www.vid.uscourts.gov/sites/ vid/files/general- ordes/CoronaVirusOperationsOrder.pdf. Among other precautionary measures, the Chief Judge continued all criminal trials scheduled from March 18, 2020, through April 16, 2020. The Chief Judge found that the ends of justice required excluding March 18, 2020, through April 16, 2020, from the Speedy Trial count in all criminal matters. Such exclusion is necessary as to any cases scheduled for trial during the March 18, 2020[,] through April 16, 2020[,] period in order to assure that there is a full, unhindered, continuously serving jury venire and seated jury in every case, which is central to the sound administration of justice. Such exclusion of time is also necessary in cases that are set for trial outside of the March 18, 2020[,] through April 16, 2020[,] time period, as well as cases that are not yet set for trial, in order to address the reasonably anticipated difficulties in defense counsel communicating or visiting with clients; the difficulties that the parties are likely to face in undertaking all of the tasks necessary to fully Case: 3:19-cr-00015-RAM-RM Document #: 94 Filed: 03/31/20 Page 2 of 4 United States v. Jackson Criminal No. 2019-15 Order prepare for trial; and the inherent delay in the scheduling of further trials as a consequence of the exclusion period herein. Id. at 2-3. Since the Chief Judge entered the general order, the crisis in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the United States in general has intensified. On March 17, 2020, there were approximately 7,000 confirmed cases in the United States, 2 of which were in the U.S. Virgin Islands. As of the date of this Order, there are over 178,000 confirmed cases in the United States, 30 of which are in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The virus has claimed over 3,500 lives in the United States. The number of cases and deaths continues to rise. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Congress passed an unprecedented financial assistance package, the CARES Act, on March 27, 2020. The Act was signed into law by the President of the United States that same day. Among its many provisions, the CARES Act authorizes district courts to use teleconferencing to hold felony pleas and felony sentencings under appropriate circumstances. See CARES Act, § 15002(b)(2), H.R. 748, 248-49. While the Speedy Trial Act requires that defendants be tried within seventy days of indictment, the Court specifically finds that further extending this period would be in the best interest of justice. In order to avoid overwhelming our Case: 3:19-cr-00015-RAM-RM Document #: 94 Filed: 03/31/20 Page 3 of 4 United States v. Jackson Criminal No. 2019-15 Order healthcare system, it is essential that action be taken to slow the spread of the virus. Social distancing--specifically avoiding gatherings of more than 10 people and maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet from others--is the most effective check against the COVID-19’s transmission. Given the increasingly dire circumstances faced by the U.S. Virgin Islands and the United States as a whole, the Court finds that a greater extension of time is necessary for the protection and well-being of the defendant, the jury, the prosecutors, the witnesses, the court personnel, and the general public at large. The premises considered, it is hereby ORDERED that the time beginning from the date of this order granting an extension through July 20, 2020, shall be excluded in computing the time within which the trial for John Jackson must be initiated pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161; it is further ORDERED that the trial in this matter previously scheduled for April 13, 2020, is RESCHEDULED to commence promptly at 9:00 A.M. on July 20, 2020, in Saint Thomas Courtroom 1. S\ Curtis V. Gómez District Judge Case: 3:19-cr-00015-RAM-RM Document #: 94 Filed: 03/31/20 Page 4 of 4