Case 3:16-cr-00029-MMD-WGC Document 222 Filed 07/28/16 Page 1 of 4

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DANIEL G. BOGDEN
United States Attorney
JAMES E. KELLER (NVBN 10636; NYBN 2893881)
SUE P. FAHAMI (NVBN 5634)
SHANNON BRYANT (NVBN 6917)
Assistant United States Attorneys
100 West Liberty Street, Suite 600
Reno, Nevada 89501
Telephone: (775) 784-5438
Facsimile: (775) 784-5181
James.Keller3@usdoj.gov
Sue.P.Fahami@usdoj.gov
Shannon.Bryant@usdoj.gov
Attorneys for United States of America
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

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Case No. 3:16-CR-00029-MMD-WGC

Plaintiff,

GOVERNMENTS RESPONSE TO
DEFENDANTS MOTION TO AMEND
CONDITIONS OF PRETRIAL RELEASE
[#221]

v.
KATHLEEN GRIFFIN,
Defendant.

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CERTIFICATION: This response is timely filed.

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COMES NOW, the United States of America, by and through its attorneys, DANIEL G.

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BOGDEN, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada, and JAMES E. KELLER, SUE

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FAHAMI, and SHANNON BRYANT, Assistant United States Attorneys, and hereby responds to

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Defendant Griffins Motion to Amend Conditions of Pretrial Release [ECF document #221].

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By way of background, Defendant Griffin was arraigned on the complaint on April 29, 2016

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[#32]. Thereafter, Griffin was arraigned on the indictment on May 13, 2016 [#86]. After these

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hearings, she was released under Pretrial Services supervision with conditions fashioned to reasonably

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assure her appearance as required and the safety of others and the community in accordance with 18
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Case 3:16-cr-00029-MMD-WGC Document 222 Filed 07/28/16 Page 2 of 4

U.S.C. 3142(g). The Court imposed, among other conditions, a travel restriction to the state of

Nevada and required the defendant to surrender her passport as necessary to comply with the 3142

factors. See PR Bond at 4 [#48]. The Court added to her travel restriction condition that any travel

outside the state of Nevada must be approved by Pretrial Services. Id.

Defendant Griffins motion is based upon two inaccurate representations that go to the heart of

her motion. First, as confirmed by Pretrial Services officer, Defendant Griffin has not been fully

compliant with Pretrial Services. Indeed, within the first few weeks of her supervision, Defendant

Griffin missed a drug test. Not only did Defendant fail to report to the Pretrial Services Office for that

test, she offered an excuse that she was stuck in Grass Valley for the night which strained credibility.

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Griffin now is under a heightened level of drug testing as part of her Pretrial Services supervision.
Second, despite the implication to the contrary in her motion, Pretrial Services has not agreed to

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the Defendants request.

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destinations in Mexico when she is facing a serious conspiracy charge, one that triggers the statutory

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presumption that there are no conditions or combination of conditions that the Court could fashion to

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ensure the defendants appearance. See 18 U.S.C. 3142(e)(3)(A).

The Defendant here wishes, bottom line, to vacation at three beach

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One of her pretrial conditions is not to travel outside the state of Nevada. That condition was

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appropriately imposed to ameliorate the defendants risk of flight, a recognized risk by statute as she is

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charged in a drug conspiracy triggering the presumption of detention, 18 U.S.C. 3142(f)(2)(A), given

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that the maximum sentence for a conviction of this offense is 20 years imprisonment. See 21 U.S.C.

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841(b)(1)(C). Facing such a charge gives the Defendant reason to want to flee. See United States v.

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Townsend, 897 F.2d 989, 995 (9th Cir. 1990) (Consideration of the nature of the offense charged

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involves consideration of the penalties.); see also United States v. Santos-Flores, 794 F.3d 1088, 1092

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(9th Cir. 2013) (listing the severity of the potential punishment as one of six primary factors for

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detention).
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Case 3:16-cr-00029-MMD-WGC Document 222 Filed 07/28/16 Page 3 of 4

Without Pretrial Services approval, the Defendant boldly asks this Court to provide her

passport to vacation with friends at no cost to herself in a foreign country on the representation that she

will return to Nevada thereafter when she has demonstrated an inability to get back from Grass Valley

to make a scheduled drug test. This is much too great of a risk of nonappearance.

Defendant Griffin has not proven her ability to comply with Pretrial Services conditions in the

first 90 days, making an after-the-fact excuse that gave the impression that her Pretrial Services

supervision and pretrial release conditions were not that serious. They are. A charged defendant who

is already challenged when it comes to abiding by the rules should not be given her passport to travel to

Mexico for pleasure. See Defs Mot. at 2. This is not a request to visit a terminally ill family

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member, or a request involving some personal emergency. Id. at 1-2. Defendant is not even financially

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burdened by having to pay for any cost for this requested trip. Id. at 2. This is simply a request for

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vacation time on the beach at no cost to herself in a foreign country that, on faith, we trust that she

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returns to face a conspiracy charge returned by the federal grand jury.

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WHEREFORE, defendant Griffins motion to amend conditions of pretrial release and/or travel

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to Mexico as requested should be denied.

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DATED this 28th day of July, 2016.

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Respectfully submitted,
DANIEL G. BOGDEN
United States Attorney

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__/s/ James E. Keller____________

JAMES E. KELLER
Assistant United States Attorney

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Case 3:16-cr-00029-MMD-WGC Document 222 Filed 07/28/16 Page 4 of 4

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

It is hereby certified that pursuant to LCR 47-11 service of the foregoing GOVERNMENTS

RESPONSE TO DEFENDANTS MOTION TO AMEND CONDITIONS OF PRETRIAL RELEASE

was made through the Courts electronic filing and notice system (CM/ECF) or, as appropriate, by

sending a copy of the same by email, addressed to the following:

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Richard Molezzo, Esq.

Winter Street Law Group
96 & 98 Winter Street
Reno, Nevada 89503
Molezzo@winterstreetlawgroup.com
Counsel for Kathleen Griffin

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DATED this 28th day of July, 2016.

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__/s/ James E. Keller__________

JAMES E. KELLER

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