Opinion
Case No. 3:13cr023
02-12-2014
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. GENE ALLEN EDWARDS, Defendant.
JUDGE WALTER H. RICE
DECISION AND ENTRY OVERRULING THE DEFENDANT'S ORAL
MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM DETENTION ORDER
Defendant having been sentenced to a term of 132 months, orally requested that this Court grant him voluntary surrender, allowing him to be placed on bond until such time as he needed to report to his designated institution.
Upon consideration, the Defendant's Motion is overruled. Given that the Defendant has been convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment exceeding ten years, 18 U.S.C. § 3143(b), governing release pending appeal, sets forth a much higher bar than would be the case for bond were the Defendant either in a non-adjudicated or non-sentenced state. Specifically, detention must be ordered unless the Court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the person is not likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community, and that any appeal is not for the purpose of delay and raises a substantial question or law or fact likely to result in reversal, an order for a new trial, a sentence that does not include a term of imprisonment or a reduced sentence to a term of imprisonment less than the total of the time already served plus the expected duration of the appeal process. Given that this Defendant has been sentenced to a period in excess of ten years, as a result of an offense described in § 3143(f)(1)(C), and that some nine warrants have been issued for his non-appearance at various Court proceedings in the captioned cause, including the necessity of a warrant being issued to secure the Defendant's appearance before the Court on the captioned matter and, further, due to the fact that, while previously on bond for a prior felony in this Court, the Defendant removed his location monitoring bracelet and fled supervision, not to be arrested until two months later, and, finally, that Defendant's appeal does not, in this Court's opinion, raise a substantial question of law or fact likely to result in either reversal, an order for a new trial, a sentence that does not include a term of imprisonment or to a reduced sentence to a term of imprisonment less than the total of the time already served plus the expected duration of the appeal process, this Court cannot make the necessary findings to release this Defendant on bond and, accordingly, allow him to voluntarily surrender himself to the designated institution.
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WALTER H. RICE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Copies to: Counsel of record