| Amid Coronavirus MCC Told Judge
Torres 45 Minute Weekly Call Too Much Now
She Agrees
By Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive, Patreon
BBC
- Decrypt
- LightRead - Honduras
-
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
April 28 – Amid the
Coronavirus pandemic, the
warden of the NYC Metropolitan
Correctional Center on April
16 asked a judge to vacate an
order granting defendant
Shalik Jenkins a weekly
45-minute legal call with his
counsel. And on April 28 the
judge agreed, below.
The MCC,
which switched wardens after
the death of Jeffrey Epstein
and then locked-down to find a
gun, says it receives 20 to 40
requests a day for legal phone
calls. Most, it seems are not
granted. Inner City Press has
reported exclusively, like
this, on moves to establish a
video link from the Attorneys
Lounge at the largely empty
courthouse at 500 Pearl
Street.
On April
16 MCC Warden M. Licon-Vitale
wrote to U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of
New York Judge Analisa Torres,
photo tweeted here:
"Re: United
States v. Shalik Jenkins, 20
CR. 78 (AT) Reg. No. 87793-054
Dear Judge
Torres:
I write
respectfully to ask the Court
to vacate or modify its Order
regarding inmate Shalik
Jenkins, Federal Register No.
87793-054, a federal inmate
currently detained at the
Metropolitan Correctional
Center in Manhattan, New York
("MCC NY"). Specifically, this
Court directed the Bureau of
Prisons to provide inmate
Jenkins with a weekly
45-minute legal call with his
counsel. In accordance with
the Court's order, please be
advised of the following.
MCC New York is
currently receiving
approximately 20-40 requests
per day for legal phone calls.
In light of the unique
challenges presented by the
ongoing pandemic, MCC NY, in
conjunction with Chief Judges
McMahon and Mauskopf, the
United States Attorneys'
Offices for the Eastern and
Southern Districts of New
York, and other outside
stakeholders, have developed
protocols for attorney calls,
and teleconference and/or
videoconference hearings.
In accordance
with the protocols, MCC NY has
established dedicated hours to
allow court appearances and
attorney/client calls. The
weekly schedule is determined
in advance based on requests.
MCC staff are working to
provide all inmates fair and
equitable access to their
counsel.
The BOP
continues to be ready and
willing to work with defense
counsel to discuss issues
regarding clients. However,
this Order requires MCC NY to
put the needs of one inmate
above and beyond the needs of
the remaining 700 inmates here
at the MCC, when protocols
have already been put in place
with the Courts' consideration
and guidance to address legal
communication concerns.
Accordingly, MCC NY
respectfully requests that
Your Honor vacate this Order.
Respectfully submitted, M.
Licon-Vitale, Warden."
And on
April 28, this: "ORDER as to
Shalik Jenkins. Accordingly,
the portion of the Courts
April 14, 2020 order that
directs the Bureau of Prisons
and MCC to provide Defendant a
weekly, 45-minute legal phone
call with his counsel, ECF No.
100 at 2, is VACATED. By May
11, 2020, Defendant shall file
a status letter regarding the
progress of scheduling a legal
phone call. (Signed by Judge
Analisa Torres on
4/28/20)(jw)." Inner City
Press will continue to cover
this case, US v.
Jenkins, 20-cr-78 (Torres).
Watch this site.
***
Your
support means a lot. As little as $5 a month
helps keep us going and grants you access to
exclusive bonus material on our Patreon
page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA
Mail: Box 20047, Dag
Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2020 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com for
|
,
