DC Judge Sets No-Nonsense Tone in Manafort Hearing
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson warned lawyers to follow the court's local rules about handling highly publicized cases.
November 02, 2017 at 05:01 PM
3 minute read
The judge handling the criminal case of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates set a strong tone in her first hearing on the case.
During Thursday's appearance, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson made it clear she's less than thrilled with how the parties have filed pleadings in the case so far, and that she would not tolerate any showboating for the media in the highly publicized case. Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty before a magistrate judge to the 12-count indictment Monday.
“I expect counsel to do their talking in this courtroom … and not on the courthouse steps,” Jackson told the lawyers at the beginning of the hearing.
The judge said she is considering issuing an order, pursuant to court rules designed for cases with high media attention, to restrict attorney statements to the media. She said the two sides could file responses as to whether she should do so.
Manafort is represented by Kevin Downing, formerly of Miller & Chevalier. Downing gave a statement to the media following Monday's hearing, which could have been what the judge was referring to, though she did not single out a specific attorney. Shanlon Wu of Wu, Grohovsky & Whipple now represents Gates, who until Thursday was represented by the public defender's office. Gates has also retained Walter Mack of the New York firm Doar Rieck Kaley and Mack, according to media reports.
Next, Jackson asked Greg Andres, a lawyer in the special counsel's office, why the government filed a memorandum Tuesday supporting the current bail conditions on the grounds Manafort could be a flight risk, but did not request specific changes. Andres said the government expected the defendants would file a motion to modify the bail conditions, but they never did.
Downing told the judge his client did intend to request a modification, and Jackson pointed out she issued an order Wednesday requiring any such requests be put in writing. She repeatedly asked Downing in the hearing what modifications he wanted. Downing responded in several different ways, asking both to end the GPS tracking of Manafort and to lift the order confining Manafort to his home. Downing said his client is amenable to a curfew and other restrictions.
“I'm still not exactly sure what you want,” Jackson said. She said she would not rule “on the fly” and needed the request in writing.
Downing said he would file a motion on the issue Thursday evening, and Andres said the government would reply Friday. Jackson said she was “not sure” total house arrest was needed, but that she did “have concerns about flight.”
Gates, meanwhile filed a motion roughly 20 minutes before the hearing looking to revoke the order keeping him confined to his home. Jackson said she had not read the motion yet and had nothing to say about it. However, Wu asked the judge if Gates would be permitted to leave his home this weekend to attend a sports tournament his child is playing in. A representative from pretrial services said conditions could be set so the GPS tracker for Gates would not sound the alarm during the time he's at the event, which the judge said is acceptable.
Jackson will hold a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Monday on bail. The judge also said a trial could be scheduled fairly soon.
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