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Extracted Text (OCR)
Cased 20-C/Qd3GOsAUNN Dib2 Pet G70 2Ftil SO A2ABM/ 26a GeAges DE 2PA5
ARGUMENT
L Reconsideration of the Court’s Bail Decision is Appropriate Under 18 U.S.C.
3142
A prior determination that a defendant should not be released on bail does not preclude
the Court from reconsidering its decision in light of new information. To the contrary, a bail
hearing
may be reopened .. . at any time before trial if the judicial officer finds that
information exists that was not known to the movant at the time of the hearing
and that has a material bearing on the issue whether there are conditions of release
that will reasonably assure the appearance of such person as required and the
safety of any other person and the community.
18 U.S.C. § 3142(f).
Courts have relied on § 3142(f) in revisiting bail determinations where the defendant
presents material testimony or documentary evidence that was not available to her at the time of
the initial hearing, even if the underlying facts might have been within the defendant’ s
knowledge. For example, in United States v. Ward, 63 F. Supp. 2d 1203 (C.D. Cal. 1999), the
court granted the defendant’s request to reopen his bail hearing to present evidence of his
immediate family’s willingness to act as sureties for his release. Jd. at 1207. The court held that
although “his immediate family and relatives were obviously known to” the defendant at the time
of his arrest, his inability to contact them and secure their appearance at his initial bail hearing
justified reconsideration. Jd.
Courts also have found § 3142(f) satisfied where there is new information regarding the
defendant’s guilt or innocence or the nature and seriousness of the alleged offense—facts
generally not known to a criminal defendant at the time of the initial hearing—particularly where
the evidence undermines the government’s prior representations to the Court regarding the
strength of its case. See, e.g., United States v. Stephens, 447 F. Supp. 3d 63, 65 (S.D.N.Y. 2020)
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