The court denied the petitioner's Motion for Review of Detention Order. Petitioner was awaiting trial and was initially denied release by a magistrate judge; he sought to challenge the prior decision (under § 3142(f) and (g)) and, alternatively, to seek temporary release due to Covid-19 (under § 3142(i)). With regards to the magistrate judge's decision, the court found a "very significant risk of nonappearance that cannot be mitigated by existing release conditions." The court then assessed the request for temporary release under § 3142(i), identifying four factors to guide its analysis: "(1) the original grounds for detention; (2) the specificity of a defendant’s COVID-19 concerns; (3) the extent to which the proposed release plan is designed to mitigate or exacerbate other COVID-19 risks to the defendant; and (4) the likelihood that a defendant’s release would increase the COVID-19 risks to others." The court ruled that while factor two weighed in the petitioner's favor, the other three favored the government; it specifically noted that electronic home monitoring was unavailable because "[i]nstallation of an ankle bracelet cannot be accomplished without a significant risk to the health and safety of the location monitoring specialist, Salam, and the proposed third-party custodian."
United States v. Salam, No. 1:20-cr-00052-SAG-3, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94282 (D. Md. May 29, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
5/29/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
Maryland
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Parole or Probation Violations, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail], Significant Criminal History
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Compassionate Release Specific Characteristics
Has a significant criminal history, Only served a small portion of their sentence (less than 33%)
Case Tracking Number
20-cr-00052-SAG
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D. Md.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Federal Detention Center [typically federal pretrial detention]
Conspiracy to commit wire fraud; Use of false identification (drivers license and passport)
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Yes
Litigation Database
Crowdsourced legal documents from around the country related to COVID-19 and incarceration, organized, collected, and summarized for public defenders, litigators, and other advocates. Created and managed by Bronx Defenders, Columbia Law School’s Center for Institutional and Social Change, UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project, and Zealous. Mostly federal court opinions, but now expanding to states and legal filings, declarations, and exhibits.
This resource is designed to help lawyers, advocates, researchers, journalists, and others interested in challenging, remedying, or drawing attention to the grave risk that Covid-19 poses to individuals who are detained.