Opinion
NO. 3:12-00013
01-23-2012
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. SITHANA KEONOI
ORDER
Defendant Sithana Keonoi, through counsel, has filed his motion for an order directing the U.S. Marshals Service to change the location of his pretrial detention to an alternative facility other than Grayson County Detention Center (Docket Entry No. 77). As grounds for this motion, defendant Keonoi states the following:
1. That his girlfriend, who resides in Nashville, Tennessee, is approximately 9 months pregnant and is therefore unable to travel to see him at the Grayson County Detention Center;
2. That defendant's family is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and his appointed counsel is located in Montgomery County, Tennessee, and that the relocation of defendant's detention to Robertson County or Davidson County, Tennessee, would be more convenient to defendant's family and his counsel.
The undersigned Magistrate Judge acknowledges that the U.S. Marshals Service, which has the responsibility for housing pretrial detainees, must take into account multiple considerations when deciding where a particular detainee shall be placed. This is especially true in cases like this one, where there are multiple defendants. These factors that the Marshals Service is required to consider are often not reflected in the Court record, nor are they otherwise known to the undersigned Magistrate Judge. Accordingly, the Court is reluctant to meddle in the Marshal's business when it comes to placing pretrial detainees absent an extraordinary showing of need. The undersigned Magistrate Judge finds that making visitation with defendant Keonoi somewhat more convenient for his girlfriend, family and his counsel does not constitute such an extraordinary need.
For the foregoing reason, defendant Keonoi's motion is DENIED.
It is so ORDERED.
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JOHN S. BRYANT
United States Magistrate Judge