Opinion
CRIM. 21-165
07-27-2021
UNITED STATES v. GREGORY CLARK
ORDER REGARDING USE OF VIDEO CONFERENCING/TELECONFERENCING FOR FELONY PLEAS AND/OR SENTENCINGS
Honorable Susan D. Wigenton United States District Judge
In accordance with Standing Order 2020-06, this Court finds:
[ √ ]That the Defendant (or the Juvenile) has consented to the use of video teleconferencing/teleconferencing to conduct the proceeding(s) held today, after consultation with counsel; and
[ √ ] That the proceeding(s) to be held today cannot be further delayed without serious harm to the interests of justice, for the following specific reasons:
See Attachment A
Accordingly, the proceeding(s) held on this date may be conducted by:
[ √ ] Video Videoconferencing
□ Teleconferencing, because video teleconferencing is not reasonably available for the following reason:
□ The Defendant (or the Juvenile) is detained at a facility lacking video teleconferencing capability.
□ Other:
ATTACHMENT A
The Court finds that the guilty plea hearing to be held today cannot be further delayed without serious harm to the interests of justice, for the following reasons:
1. To ensure that the Court is not overwhelmed by cases and proceedings at the conclusion of this period of emergency. Currently, District Judges in New Jersey handle a substantially larger docket of cases than Judges in other Districts in the United States. New criminal cases continue to be assigned by the Court during the emergency. If the Court cannot resolve matters by guilty plea and sentencing, the resulting backlog will overwhelm the Court's ability to effectively function.
2. To permit the defendant to obtain a speedy resolution of his case through an admission of guilt, timely sentencing to afford appropriate punishment and rehabilitation, and the defendant making amends to any victims through an admission of responsibility and restitution. The defendant has asked for this case to be resolved today by guilty plea and for a subsequent timely sentencing.
3. To permit the Government to obtain a resolution of the case so that the Government, already operating in a restricted capacity due to the emergency, may appropriately focus its resources on other, emerging criminal matters. The Government has asked for this case to be resolved today by guilty plea and for a subsequent timely sentencing.