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RtCHARO W. NA 'lEL
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CLERK OF Cf1UxT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF omo
EASTERN DIVISION 202n HAY 29 At' If: 41
U.S. rnsrn1~.:-i CGURT
<;OUTHERN OiST. OHlQ
In Re: tAST. DIV. COLUMBUS
COURT OPERATIONS UNDER THE
EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES GENERAL ORDER NO. 20-18
CREATED BY COVID-19 WITH RESPECT •.
TO VIDEO TELECONFERENCING FOR
CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
This Court issues this General Order, as one in a series of General Orders, in response to
the exponential spread of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in the Southern District of Ohio
and elsewhere. There are more than one million confirmed cases of COVID-19 throughout the
Country, thousands throughout the Southern District of Ohio generally, and hundreds in each seat
of Court in the Southern District of Ohio: Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton. As a result of the
outbreak:, President Trump has invoked the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.,
and has issued guidelines mandating social distancing.
Due to COVID-19 and its impact on institutions, including the judiciary and its
administration of justice, Congress has passed legislation authorizing the use of video and
telephone conferencing, under certain circumstances and with the consent of the defendant, for
various criminal case events during the course of the COVID-19 emergency. See The CARES
Act, H.R. 748 Section 15002 et seq. The Judicial Conference of the United States has also found
that emergency conditions due to the national emergency declared by the President have affected
and will materially affect the functioning of the federal courts generally.
On March 30, 2020, I, as Chief Judge of this District, issued General Order 20-07,
authorizing the use of video conferencing, or telephone conferencing if video conferencing was
not reasonably available, for all criminal proceedings listed in Section 15002(b) of the CARES
Act. In addition, pursuant to Section 15002(b)(2), I found that felony pleas under Rule 11 of the
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and felony sentencings under Rule 32 of the Federal Rules
of Criminal Procedure could not be conducted in person in this District without seriously
jeopardizing public health and safety. General Order 20-07 was set to expire on June 30, 2020.
On April 3, 2020, I issued General Order 20-08, which was intended, in part, to extend the
operative effect of General Order 20-07. To clear up any confusion surrounding General Order
20-08's impact on General Order 20-07, and because the continual spread of COVID-19
throughout this District so warrants, I now find as follows:
As ChiefJudge, and pursuantto Section 15002(b)(l) ofthe CARES Act, I hereby authorize
the use of video conferencing, or telephone conferencing if video conferencing is not reasonably
available, for all events listed in Section 15002(b) of the legislation to wit:
a) Detention hearings under Section 3142 of title 18, United States Code.
b) Initial appearances under Rule 5 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
c) Preliminazy hearings under Rule 5.1 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
d) Waivers of indictment under Rule 7(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
e) Arraignments under Rule 10 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
f) Probation and supervised release revocation proceedings under Rule 32.1 ofthe Federal
Rules of Criminal Procedure.
g) Pretrial release revocation proceedings under Section 3148 of title 18, United States
Code.
h) Appearances under Rule 40 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
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i) Misdemeanor pleas and sentencings as described in Rule 43(b)(2) of the Federal Rules
of Criminal Procedure.
j) Proceedings under Rule 403 of title 18, United States Code (commonly known as the
"Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act"), except for contested transfer hearings and
juvenile delinquency adjudication or trial proceedings.
Additionally, pursuant to Section 15002(b)(2), I, as Chief Judge, on my own motion,
further specifically find that felony pleas under Rule 11 ofthe Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
and felony sentencings under Rule 32 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure cannot be
conducted in person in this district without seriously jeopardizing public health and safety. As a
result, if any judge in an individual case finds, for specific reasons, that a felony plea or sentencing
in that case cannot be further delayed without serious harm to the interests of justice, the judge
may, with the consent of the defendant after consultation with counsel, use video conferencing, or
teleconferencing if video conferencing is not reasonably available, for the felony plea or
sentencing in that case. Judges may also use this authority for equivalent events in juvenile cases
as described in Section 15002(b)(2)(B), with the consent of the juvenile after consultation with
counsel.
Pursuant to Section 15002(b)(3) of the CARES Act, this Order, which is effective
immediately, will remain in effect for 90 days unless terminated earlier. If emergency conditions
continue to exist 90 days from the date of this Order, or if the President's emergency declaration
remains in effect, along with the Judicial Conference's finding that the emergency conditions will
materially affect the functioning of the federal courts, the Chief Judge will review this Order and
determine whether to extend it. Such review will occur not less frequently than once every 90
days, until the last day of the covered emergency period or until the Chief Judge determines that
this authorization is no longer warranted.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
ALGE LEY
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
DATED: May 29, 2020
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