United States v. Smith

ORDER

Defendants SMITH and FISHERMAN together with twenty-one others were indicted by a grand jury in connection with the importation of white heroin. The grand jury accused SMITH of violations of 21 U.S.C. § 846 , 21 U.S.C. § 848 and 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1). FISHERMAN is accused in the conspiracy count of participation in approximately ten of the more or less two hundred fifty overt acts alleged. The Honorable Sherrill Halbert, Senior Judge of this district received the indictments, issued warrants and set bail in the amounts requested by the United States Attorney (one and one half million dollars) for each of the defendants. The bail was to be satisfied only by cash or corporate surety.

A bail hearing was held before Judge Halbert and no modification was ordered. Thereafter a bail hearing was held before Magistrate Esther Mix. 1 SMITH sought to satisfy bail with the pledge of a jewelry business owned by his friend and real property owned by his family. The magistrate rejected the pledge of the business as mechanically unworkable since, in her view, it would require the placing of a keeper in the store. Bail was continued in the same amount, and again could only be secured by…