United States v. Mitchell

Defendants Nathan Lewis and Felix Mitchell have been in custody since February 1983. On November 6 and 19, 1984, respectively, they moved for reconsideration of their bail conditions. In response to these motions the Government moved for a detention hearing pursuant to § 3142 of the Bail Reform Act of 1984 (“BRA 1984”), Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, Tit. II, Ch. 1, Pub.L. No. 98-473, 98 Stat. 1837 (October 12,1984) (to be codified at 18 U.S.C. § 3141 et seq.). Defendants dispute the applicability of the Act to them on retroactivity and ex post facto grounds and challenge its constitutionality under the Eighth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

Having carefully considered the parties’ papers and oral argument the court concludes that the Bail Reform Act of 1984 does not apply to defendants Lewis and Mitchell and hereby denies the Government’s motion for a detention hearing. As discussed in detail below, this ruling is based upon the finding that neither the legislative history of the Act nor its statutory provisions indicate that Congress intended BRA 1984 to be applied retroactively to individuals already admitted to bail pursuant to…