March 26, 2020. This week, Attorney General William Barr issued a memo to the Bureau of Prisons urging officials to identify certain inmates for home confinement in an effort to reduce the inmate population. The move to expand home confinement comes after reports that inmates in at least two BOP facilities have contracted the coronavirus. […]
March 25, 2020. On Wednesday, the FBI arrested a man in California and charged him with federal fraud offenses. The man was allegedly soliciting investments for a fake cure for the coronavirus. To date, there is no cure for those infected with the virus. According to an article on ABC News, the federal government is […]
March 25, 2020. ABC News has reported that the Department of Justice has urged U.S. Attorneys to consider bringing federal terrorism charges against individuals who either threat to spread or who intentionally spread the coronavirus to others. According to a DOJ memo, prosecutors are encouraged to treat the virus as a “biological agent” which can […]
March 26, 2020. According to internal documents obtained by ABC News, the BOP has continued to transfer inmates between facilities days after three federal inmates tested positive for coronavirus at two different facilities (FCC Oakdale in Louisiana and MDC New York). While the BOP recently released a memo to staff notifying them that inmate movement […]
Marsh 24, 2020. Attorney General William Barr has recently requested that Congress pass a law allowing federal judges to indefinitely detain individuals pre-trial and suspend other rights that criminal defendants have. Specifically, the DOJ wants to empower federal judges to “pause” court proceedings during instances of “natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation.” The […]
March 24, 2020. On Sunday, the Department of Justice released a press release announcing its first enforcement action to “combat fraud related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.” The federal government filed the action in Austin, TX accusing operators of the website “coronavirusmedicalkit.com” of engaging in wire fraud. The website operators were fraudulently advertising that they […]
The coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19, has changed virtually every aspect of the way we are living our lives, from practicing “social distancing” to shutting down our favorite bars and restaurants. We are also seeing millions of people quarantine themselves or “self-isolate” to prevent getting sick or spreading the coronavirus to others. Unfortunately, not […]
Federal, state and local governments are becoming more aggressive in trying to stop the spread of the coronavirus by imposing even tougher restrictions. Given the severity of this crisis, it is understandable and expected that we will continue to see “shelter in place” orders, forced business and school closings, restrictions on public gatherings, and other […]
This week, the BOP reported that at least two of its staff members tested positive for the coronavirus after interacting with inmates. Staff members are also complaining about a shortage of masks, soap, gloves, and other equipment to help limit the spread of the disease. In one facility, a busload of inmates with fevers arrived […]
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice announced that it has created a task force to investigate nursing homes for neglect and abuse of elderly residents as part of its National Nursing Home Initiative. The task force was created to “focus on poor hygiene and nutrition, withholding pain medication, using sedation or restraints when they […]
Join The Federal Docket Newsletter