Opinion
S2 20 Cr. 110 (LJL)
03-23-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. LAWRENCE RAY, Defendant.
ORDER
HON. LEWIS J. LIMAN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
The Court having found good cause shown, based upon all of the prior proceedings in this case, it is hereby
ORDERED that the Court appoints Doctor Alexander Merkler, M.D., as an independent expert reporting solely to the Court, to perform an independent examination of defendant LAWRENCE RAY in this matter, and to assist the Court in reviewing defendant RAY's medical records; and it is further
ORDERED THAT Dr. Merkler shall take direction solely from the Court and that neither counsel for the Government nor counsel for the defendant shall have any communications with Dr. Merkler absent leave of the Court; and it is further
ORDERED that the Government shall pay the reasonable fees of Dr. Merkler, as determined by the Court in its sole discretion and that such obligation shall be final and irrevocable and without regard to the conclusions or opinions expressed by Dr. Merkler; and it is further
ORDERED that Dr. Merkler shall have access to all medical records of RAY which Dr. Merkler may deem relevant and which may be of assistance to Dr. Merkler in evaluating the defendant, with any counsel having the right to suggest to the Court medical records that such counsel believes should be provided to Dr. Merkler; and it is further
ORDERED that Dr. Merkler shall have access to any other information after consultation with the Court that he, in the exercise of his medical judgment, believes is necessary or appropriate in performing an examination of RAY or rendering an opinion in this matter; and it is further
ORDERED that any meeting(s), evaluation(s), and/or testing that occur pursuant to this Order shall be between the defendant, LAWRENCE RAY, and Dr. Merkler, and no other persons shall be present at such meeting(s), evaluation(s), and/or testing, aside from personnel deemed necessary by the United States Marshal Service, absent further Order of the Court; and it is further
ORDERED that on or before a date in March 2022, to be determined by the Court after consultation with Dr. Merkler, Dr. Merkler shall report the results of his examination to the Court with copies provided to defense counsel Peggy Cross-Goldenberg, Esq., Allegra Glasshauser, Esq., Marne Lenox, Esq., and Neil Kelly, Esq., 52 Duane Street, 10th Floor, New York, New York, 10007, and Assistant United States Attorneys Mollie Bracewell, Lindsey Keenan, and Danielle Sassoon, 1 St. Andrew's Plaza, New York, New York 10007; and it is further
ORDERED that the Government and defense shall meet and confer and, by 5:00 p.m. today, submit to the Court proposed subpoenas for the production of defendant's medical records with such records to be returned to the Court and only thereafter provided to the parties.
This Order to be effective only upon the Court determining that Dr. Merkler can provide a fair and impartial opinion on a timely basis after inquiry by the Court with counsel for both parties being present and having the right to suggest to the Court questions to be put to Dr. Merkler (but not having the right to pose any questions directly).