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Criminal Justice News This Week (week of 04-06-20)
Many Federal Criminal Proceedings to Go Remote. "One defense attorney said of clients who had participated in remote proceedings, 'They could have their review done quickly and that day, or they could wait until they would be permitted to come to court.'"
Everybody seems to be using Zoom. But its security flaws could leave users at risk. "Its billionaire chief said the video-conferencing company never expected that 'every person in the world would suddenly be working, studying, and socializing from home.'"
Courtroom access: Will covid-19 lead to streaming oral arguments? "The tragedy of the coronavirus pandemic has raised the issue whether the Supreme Court might provide some alternative form of public access. Obviously, it is unsafe to attend sessions of the court in person, just as it would be to congregate anywhere else.")
Ohio prison worker tests positive; inmate sues for release. "An Ohio prison employee tested positive for the coronavirus, the state reported Sunday night, marking the first such occurrence in Ohio at a time of growing national fears about the impact of the virus in crowded jails and prisons."
The Pandemic Exposes The Shared Fates Of The Jailed And The Jailer. "Incarcerated people, corrections officers, and their families and communities are bound together by the threat of a deadly and fast-moving disease. The sooner we recognize this, and take decisive action, the more lives we will save."
Jail Guards Ask Governors for Protection Against Virus. "Three U.S. correctional officers have died from the coronavirus and union leaders called on governors Friday to do more to protect prison staff at risk from their close contact with inmates. As county officials and judges across the U.S. heed the calls of health officials to release sickly inmates to keep them from falling victim to Covid-19 outbreaks, state correctional officers say they are being kept out of the loop in addressing the crisis."
Barr Expands Early Release of Inmates at Prisons Seeing More Coronavirus Cases. "The attorney general directed the Bureau of Prisons to prioritize the early release of some prisoners from federal correctional institutions in Louisiana, Connecticut and Ohio."
How Much Liberty Must We Give Up? A Constitutional Analysis of the Coronavirus Lockdown Proposals. "Benjamin Franklin once said that 'those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.' But what would Franklin have given up to secure a lot of permanent safety – to stop a highly lethal microbe that has already killed thousands of people? Like so much else in our world, his maxim now faces a severe test from the coronavirus."
As Epidemic Worsens, Cities And States Ask Police To Enforce Staying At Home. "Some cities have threatened to ticket those who don't follow strict social distancing guidelines to curb the spread of COVID-19. Residents in some communities have tested those threats."
Pastor Arrested for Violating Rules Amid Virus Outbreak. "Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne was arrested after holding two Sunday services with hundreds of people and violating a safer-at-home order in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus.")
Edward Snowden says COVID-19 could give governments invasive new data-collection powers that could last long after the pandemic. “Edward Snowden, the man who exposed the breadth of spying at the US's National Security Agency, has warned that an uptick in surveillance amid the coronavirus crisis could lead to long-lasting effects on civil liberties."
Money Laundering, Lawyers, and Escrow: The Case for Voluntary Due Diligence. "Because an escrow account is a conduit for money laundering, lawyers should voluntarily enact due diligence protocols over the provenance of escrow deposits.")
Feds Charge Vice Cops Who Arrested Stormy Daniels at Ohio Strip Club. "Two former members of the Columbus Division of Police vice squad who were involved in the 2018 arrest of adult film star Stormy Daniels during her public feud with President Donald Trump were themselves arrested Tuesday. They former officers are charged with conspiring to violate the civil rights of others and conspiring to commit wire fraud."
