United States v. Hazzard

598 F. Supp. 1442, 75 A.L.R. Fed. 783, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21328
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedDecember 11, 1984
Docket84 CR 771
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 598 F. Supp. 1442 (United States v. Hazzard) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Hazzard, 598 F. Supp. 1442, 75 A.L.R. Fed. 783, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21328 (N.D. Ill. 1984).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

. WILLIAM T. HART, District Judge.

Defendant Kevin Sidney Hazzard has moved to revoke or amend an order entered by a United States magistrate on October 23, 1984 ordering his pretrial preventive detention pursuant to the Bail Reform Act of 1984 (“the Act”), 18 U.S.C. § 3141, et seq. Section 3145(b) of the Act provides that if a person is ordered detained by a magistrate he may file with the court having original jurisdiction of the offense a motion for revocation or amendment of the *1444 order. The Act requires that the motion shall be determined promptly. 1

Hazzard contends that the detention order should be reversed and reasonable bail set for one or more of the following reasons:

(a) The detention order was entered pursuant to the provisions of a statute which, both on its face and as applied to Hazzard, deprives him of constitutional rights to bail, to the presumption of innocence, to due process of law, and to equal protection of the laws.
(b) The detention order was entered without providing Hazzard with the discovery necessary to a meaningful exercise of his right to cross-examine, to confront witnesses, and to present evidence.
(c) The hearing was inadequate because of the government’s reliance on hearsay evidence and because of the limits placed on cross-examination.
(d) To apply the Act in this case would violate the Ex Post Facto clause of the Constitution because the offense charged allegedly occurred on October 6, 1984 and the Act did not become law as part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 until October 12, 1984.

I. Applicable Statutory Provisions

On October 12, 1984 the Bail Reform Act became law as Chapter II of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. Because of new interrelated provisions pertaining to detention hearings, it is appropriate to set forth at the outset the parts of the Act which govern this proceeding:

“§ 3141. Release and detention authority generally

“(a) PENDING TRIAL. — A judicial officer who is authorized to order the arrest of a person pursuant to section 3041 of this title shall order that an arrested person who is brought before him be released or detained, pending judicial proceedings, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

******

“§ 3142. Release or detention of a defendant pending trial

“(a) IN GENERAL. — Upon the appearance before a judicial officer, of a person charged with an offense, the judicial officer shall issue an order that, pending trial, the person be—

******
(4) detained pursuant to the provisions of subsection (e).
******

“(e) DETENTION. — If, after a hearing pursuant to the provisions of subsection (f), the judicial officer finds that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community, he shall order the detention of the person prior to trial____ Subject to rebuttal by the person, it shall be presumed that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of the community if the judicial officer finds that there is probable cause to believe that the person committed ... an offense under section 924(c) of title 18 of the United States Code [possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony].

“(f) DETENTION HEARING. — The judicial officer shall hold a hearing to determine whether any condition or combination of conditions set forth in subsection (c) will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community in a case—

(1) upon motion of the attorney for the Government, that involves—
*1445 (A) a crime of violence;
*je sis * 5j! * *

“The hearing shall be held immediately upon the person’s first appearance before the judicial officer unless that person, or the attorney for the Government seeks a continuance. Except for good cause, a continuance on motion of the person may not exceed five days, and a continuance on motion of the attorney for the Government may not exceed three days____ At the hearing, the person has the right to be represented by counsel, and, if he is financially unable to obtain adequate representation, to have counsel appointed for him. The person shall be afforded an opportunity to testify, to present witnesses on his own behalf, to cross-examine witnesses who appear at the hearing, and to present information by proffer or otherwise. The rules concerning admissibility of evidence in criminal trials do not apply to the presentation and consideration of information at the hearing. The facts the judicial officer uses to support a finding pursuant to subsection (e) that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community shall be supported by clear and convincing evidence. The person may be detained pending completion of the hearing.

“(g) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED. —The judicial officer shall, in determining whether there are conditions of release that will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community, take into account the available information concerning—

(1) the nature and circumstances of the offense charged, including whether the offense is a crime of violence or involves a narcotic drug;
(2) the weight of the evidence against the person;
(3) the history and characteristics of the person, including—
(A) his character, physical and mental condition, family ties, employment, financial resources, length of residence in the community, community ties, past conduct, history relating to drug or alcohol abuse, criminal history, and record concerning appearance at court proceedings; and
(B) whether, at the time of the current offense or arrest, he was on probation, on parole, or on other release pending trial, sentencing, appeal, or completion of sentence for an offense under Federal, State, or local law; and
(4) the nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or the community that would be posed by the person’s release.
* * * * * *

“(i) CONTENTS OF DETENTION ORDER. — In a detention order issued pursuant to the provisions of subsection (e), the judicial officer shall—

(1) include written findings of fact and a written statement of the reasons for the detention;

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Williams v. People
53 V.I. 514 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2010)
Matter of Personal Restraint of Williams
853 P.2d 444 (Washington Supreme Court, 1993)
United States v. Lewis
769 F. Supp. 1189 (D. Kansas, 1991)
United States v. Gatto
729 F. Supp. 1478 (D. New Jersey, 1989)
United States v. Arvanitis
667 F. Supp. 593 (N.D. Illinois, 1987)
United States v. Gallo
653 F. Supp. 320 (E.D. New York, 1986)
United States v. Melendez-Carrion
790 F.2d 984 (Second Circuit, 1986)
United States v. Yvonne Melendez-Carrion
790 F.2d 984 (Second Circuit, 1986)
United States v. Cox
635 F. Supp. 1047 (D. Kansas, 1986)
United States v. Leonel Portes
786 F.2d 758 (Seventh Circuit, 1986)
United States v. Campbell
621 F. Supp. 987 (D. Maryland, 1985)
Faheem-El v. Klincar
620 F. Supp. 1308 (N.D. Illinois, 1985)
United States v. Accetturo
623 F. Supp. 746 (D. New Jersey, 1985)
United States v. Bushey
617 F. Supp. 292 (D. Vermont, 1985)
United States v. Botero
604 F. Supp. 1028 (S.D. Florida, 1985)
United States v. Freitas
602 F. Supp. 1283 (N.D. California, 1985)
United States v. Kouyoumdjian
601 F. Supp. 1506 (C.D. California, 1985)
United States v. DiVarco
602 F. Supp. 1029 (N.D. Illinois, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
598 F. Supp. 1442, 75 A.L.R. Fed. 783, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21328, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-hazzard-ilnd-1984.