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Today in Baltimore City bail reviews: Judge Cox is presiding. He says there’s been “some emergency” that has taken some jail personnel from one facility to another, and this means they can’t have defendants present by videoconference today.
First is an uncontested request for continuance.
Next is another uncontested request for continuance.
Next: a man whose case isn’t scheduled until September (we’ve repeatedly heard that trials won’t happen until October so that date will move). ASA reciting allegations as fact, asking for HWOB. Pretrial recommending HWOB. Judge Cox ordering HWOB.
Next: a woman being held on a VOP whose attorney has no info about the violation (which was filed by an ASA, not her agent). ASA says they will defer to the court about bail, since the alleged violation apparently occurred 18 months ago, no indication of any violations since.
This means they put her in jail during a pandemic for something that may or may not have happened a year and a half prior. Judge Cox mentions she is on the jail’s vulnerable list. Judge Cox ordering ROR.
Next: another VOP, defense asking for release due to the outbreak of COVID in the facility where he is housed. The ASA mentions that there is a non-cooperating complaining witness involved.
This ASA is reading off what he calls the man’s “history,” but he is including stets and nolle pros’d cases left and right. It remains shocking that this is allowed. State asking for HWOB. Pretrial recommending HWOB. Judge Cox ordering HWOB.
Next: another alleged VOP. Defense attorney reminds the court that his client is presumed innocent and should have the opportunity not to get COVID while awaiting his next court appearance.
The ASA is reciting the allegations as facts. State is seeking HWOB. Pretrial recommending HWOB. Judge Cox ordering HWOB.
Next: another alleged VOP. Case is set for November. Another judge has already released him to home detention on the new case that is the reason for the VOP. He has been in jail for 70+ days on the VOP alone. If Judge Cox releases him on the VOP, he can start the home detention.
He has had asthma his whole life, along with other serious underlying medical issues. He’s being held at Central Booking, which now has almost 100 cases among inmates.
The case he is on probation for is a drug case. He’s been arrested three times by the same group of officers, all of whom have a lot of IAD complaints.
The ASA is reciting the cops’ version of the search in his underlying case. This is one of these cases where even the police version makes the police sound like goons.
Now the ASA is reciting the SAME cops’ version of the new arrest that led to this VOP. He is feigning confusion about what the attorney is implying about cops. He implies the judge shouldn’t consider the man’s kids bc he couldn’t be spending too much time with them anyway. ?????
The ASA made lots of allusions to guns, defense attorney points out both that he doesn’t have gun convictions and that one of the cops once wrote two statements of probable cause in two cases at the same time. The ASA loudly shouting “objection” over here. (Geese? Ganders?)
State seeking HWOB. Pretrial recommending HWOB. Judge Cox says he’s not on the jail’s vulnerable list. He mentions the presumption of innocence. Ordering home detention.
Next: another alleged VOP. The accused is a young father. The underlying case carries very little time, so he has already been in jail for much of the time he would serve on that.
New allegation is drugs only. The ASA is calling him a threat to public safety. Seeking HWOB. Pretrial recommending HWOB. Defense pointing out that neither case involves violence and his client has been in jail for months now. Judge Cox ordering ROR with pretrial supervision.
Next: another alleged VOP. The state is going first this time. The ASA says “there may be very serious challenges on the state going forward” on the new case, so state will defer to the court on the VOP.
The defense attorney is asking for release on both cases. Her client’s last bail review was held before Judge Barbera issued her order directing courts to consider the outbreak in facilities. He’s held at Central Booking, where cases are increasing.
Some confusion regarding whether the complaining witness is recanting. Judge Cox weirdly mentioning he was the judge in a case many years ago where this man was the defendant, commenting about how he “presented himself.”
Judge Cox wants defense to find another address for him to stay at it he’s released, will hold the case over until Friday to give her time to find one.
Next: an agreed-upon postponement because the hearing notice for today was sent to the wrong defense attorney.
Next: a case where the state and the defense have been in communication already. The accused has contracted COVID in jail. The parties agreed to home detention but they are working out a question about where he will live.
Judge Cox agreeing to hold the case over to Friday so the defense can confirm the address.
Next: a case in which the state is contemplating reducing the charges. The accused has been accepted into two different inpatient treatment programs. There is a bed available today. His earlier bail review was prior to the Barbera order.
He has serious underlying medical issues and needs careful med management to avoid complications. Defense atty asking the court to release him so he can go into treatment.
The ASA confirms the state is reducing the charges, says state doesn’t oppose some sort of release. Pretrial recommending ROR with pretrial supervision. Judge ordering ROR with the condition that he enter a specific inpatient program when he is released from the jail.
That’s the end of the docket.
