Listserve Updates re: USA v. Bonds from the Media Liaison
This page lists all updates to date from the Media Liaison to members of the media via the court’s USA v. Bonds listserve. Sign up on the court’s mailing list sign-up page.
IMPORTANT: This page is updated at the end of each day. If you need current information during a court day, be sure to sign up for the listserve so you receive updates directly.
04/08/2011 04:14 PM
USA v. Bonds: update for Monday
Dear Members of the Media:
The jury has headed home for the weekend. Court will resume at 8:30 am Monday. At the close of deliberations today, the jury requested a read-back of Kathy Hoskins’ testimony. Judge Illston granted the request and directed that the transcript reading be the first order of business on Monday. The jurors plan to deliberate until 3:30 pm Monday.
Also, in answer to continuing questions about the impact on the courts and the USA v. Bonds trial of a government shutdown, the United States Courts will remain open and trials will not be affected. Please visit our website regularly for updates. A brief article on the website of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (www.uscourts.gov . . .) offers somewhat more detail.
Have a good weekend and enjoy the cool, sunny weather if staying in San Francisco.
Lynn Fuller
Media & Public Outreach Liaison
United States District Court
Northern District of California
(415)522-4051
04/08/2011 03:15 PM
USA v. Bonds: another jury note/Court will reconvene shortly.
04/08/2011 02:49 PM
Re: USA v. Bonds proceedings resuming at 3:00 pm/Court is convening for further proceedings to begin at 3:00 pm in Courtroom 10.
04/08/2011 12:33 PM
Re: USA v. Bonds Jury update/According to the courtroom deputy, the jury is currently having lunch and will be ready at 12:45.
04/08/2011 11:07 AM
Re: USA v. Bonds Jury note/The court will convene no sooner than 11:20.
04/07/2011 04:31 PM
Dear Members of the Media:
Oral arguments finished a little while ago and the judge instructed the jury. The jury is allowed to decide its own hours for deliberating and has decided to deliberate tomorrow (Friday) from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. This means that there will be USA v. Bonds-related court proceedings only if the jury has a question or reaches a verdict.
If there is a shutdown of the federal government tomorrow, the United States Courts will remain open. Please visit the court’s homepage () for updates from the Clerk of Court on this subject.
The Media Center and press room will be available to members of the media, but the Ceremonial Courtroom will not be open during jury deliberations.
Lynn Fuller
Media & Public Outreach Liaison
United States District Court
Northern District of California
(415)522-4051
04/06/2011 03:14 PM
Dear Members of the Media:
Both the prosecution and the defense have now rested. The government agreed to dismiss Count 4 this morning. Tomorrow, both sides will offer closing arguments and the judge will instruct the jury. Time permitting, deliberations may begin tomorrow.
Many members of the media have asked whether the jury will deliberate on Friday. The jurors will be free to deliberate on Friday if they wish, but they themselves will decide whether to do so after they have been instructed. The jurors will also choose their own hours. According to the US Marshals Service, jurors may choose to deliberate after the hour that the building closes to the public (6 pm) or on the weekend, but only if the Judge agrees to allow them to do so.
During deliberations, the jury may have a question. The Judge then reconvenes the proceeding, summoning necessary court staff and the attorneys. The jury’s question is then presented and answered on the record. The same procedure will apply when the jury reaches a verdict. Because of the need to be present on short notice for these eventualities, the attorneys and necessary court staff will be required to be available on fifteen minutes’ notice. The media will receive a notification via this listserve as quickly as possible after this notice is given. The notification will take the form either of a short email message or a clerk’s notice efiled in ECF. In other words, there will be something a little under fifteen minutes’ notice to the media that the jury has a question or a verdict.
While the jury is deliberating, the Media Center on the first floor will be open from approximately 7:30 am to 5:00 pm and the press room on 18 will be accessible during the hours the building is open to the public (6:00 am to 6:00 pm).
Other pending questions you have posed to me that will be answered further on in the proceedings: (1) When will the jurors’ names be released? (2) When and where will the media be allowed to talk to the jurors?
Thank you,
Lynn Fuller
Media & Public Outreach Liaison
United States District Court
Northern District of California
(415)522-4051
March 30, 2011 (4:30 pm)
Dear Members of the Media:
Here is my understanding regarding the status of trial proceedings.
Tomorrow (Thursday, March 31), trial will be held only until 1:30 pm because of Judge Illston’s schedule. There will be, as usual, no trial on Friday.
The prosecution will call as witnesses Dr. Arthur Ting, Kathy Hoskins and Dr. Don Catlin. Also, some grand jury testimony will be read out loud to the jury. If it is able to complete this list of tasks, the prosecution is expected to rest. In that case, the defense will begin putting its case on next Monday.
A question has come up regarding notifications to the media during jury deliberations. The answer is that this listserve will be used to contact the media about jury updates (questions, a verdict, etc.) during deliberations.
Lynn Fuller
Media & Public Outreach Liaison
United States District Court
Northern District of California
(415)522-4051
March 25, 2011
Dear Members of the Media:
Here is what the prosecution has announced regarding the witness lineup for next week.
Mike Murphy
Mike Wilson
Ana Geter
Kimberley Bell
Stan Conte
Kathy Hoskins
I want to thank all of you who attended the trial this past week for your professionalism and your cooperation, which have helped the proceedings go smoothly. If your assignment has changed or soon will change and you are handing your media credential over to a colleague, PLEASE refer your colleague to the resources on the court’s website, cand.uscourts.gov, including the webpage for media (cand.uscourts.gov/media) and the webpage for the USA v. Bonds case (cand.uscourts.gov/sibondscase). Journalists are especially encouraged to download the Guide for Journalists especially for journalists covering USA v. Bonds. Your assistance with providing some continuity of knowledge about our court and this case within your media organization is very helpful to the court and to all participants in the trial.
This remains a high-demand trial and we will be keeping the Ceremonial Courtroom open next week to provide ample overflow seating on the 19th floor. The Media Center will also be open Monday-Thursday for members of the media.
The protocol for sharing admitted evidence with the media will continue to be for both the prosecution and the defense to place copies of items of evidence admitted each day on the table in the Media Center after trial each day.
Trial resumes Monday at 8:30 am.
Have a good weekend.
Lynn Fuller
Media & Public Outreach Liaison
United States District Court
Northern District of California
(415)522-4051
March 22, 2011
Dear Members of the Media:
It appears that the protocol will be as follows for admitted exhibits. At the close of court proceedings each day, the prosecution will place six copies of the prosecution exhibits admitted into evidence that day on the table near the door in the Media Center; the defense will do the same with the defense exhibits.
The government will continue presenting its evidence tomorrow, with the witness lineup as follows:
– Agent Jeff Novitsky
– Steve Hoskins
– Mike Murphy
– Jim Valente
The witnesses are listed with short descriptions in the government’s witness list filed March 7, 2011 (Doc # 276), available on the court’s file listing for this case via the USA v. Bonds web page.
I will be outside the courtroom before trial begins on Wednesday and Thursday of this week but otherwise unavailable except by email, which I will check at noon and at the close of business. At the end of each day, I will send you any updates about witness lineup.
If you need to pick up your pass after 8:30 am, you may come to the Clerk’s Office on 16 and use the “house phone” to contact Larry Bittner at x2053.
Lynn Fuller
Media & Public Outreach Liaison
United States District Court
Northern District of California
(415)522-4051
March 22, 2011
Dear Members of the Media,
Following opening statements, the prosecution will present the following two witnesses: Agent Novitsky; Steve Hoskins. More witness information will be forthcoming when I have it. I will endeavor to send at least one update per day for the duration of trial.
Lynn Fuller
Media & Public Outreach Liaison
United States District Court
Northern District of California
(415)522-4051
March 18, 2011
Dear Members of the Media,
Trial begins with jury selection at 8:30 am Monday, March 21. At this point all media credentials have been printed and I consider the list final. Passes will be available for pickup on the 19th floor of the courthouse on Monday or Tuesday. If you did not contact me in time, or were not issued the number you requested, do not despair. The credential will be required to access the reserved seating for members of the media at trial. Without a credential, the trial will still be a public proceeding open to members of the public and the media but seating will not be guaranteed.
All members of the media who have not done so are urged to download the Guide for Journalists specifically for USA v. Bonds from the court’s USA v. Bonds webpage (/sibondscase). Also accessible from the USA v. Bonds webpage:
· new documents recently filed in the case are being posted almost daily on a file listing accessible via the above-referenced web page without PACER fees;
· this and previous posts to the media listserve, and other information for the media.
The following is the plan for the first day of trial, Monday:
1. MEDIA SEATING. Twenty seats will be reserved in Courtroom 10 for the media, in addition to the seats reserved for other purposes. This is less than one-third the number of passes approved for members of the media in this case. A list will be held at the door with the twenty new s organizations which have been approved for a seat in the courtroom (see below). Other media pass-holders will be able to choose between the Ceremonial Courtroom (19th floor) and the Media Center (1st Floor), both of which will have video simulcasts of the court proceedings and copies of the jury questionnaires available for examination.
Accordingly, the following media organizations will be allowed one seat in the courtroom (this means that organizations on this list with more than one pass are limited to one seat in the courtroom for Monday only):
AP
Bay City News
Bloomberg
Courthouse News
The Daily Journal
The San Francisco Chronicle
The San Jose Mercury News
The Recorder
The Bay Citizen
Comcast Sports
ESPN
The New York Times
The Los Angeles Times
The Wall Street Journal
Thomson Reuters
The following lists media networks/organizations of which the network plus one or more affiliate radio and/or television station has obtained a press credential for the USA v. Bonds trial. Each of the following will be allowed ONE seat in Courtroom 10 to be determined by the affiliated organizations among themselves:
ABC
CBS
NBC
FOX
NPR
The Media Liaison must be advised, by email to usavbonds@cand.uscourts.gov, of the name of the journalist designated for each of the five above-listed entities no later than 5:00 pm Sunday, March 20.
2. JURY QUESTIONNAIRES. In a minor modification to the order re: access to completed jury questionnaires posted March 14, 2011, several sets of the binders will be available for the day Monday, March 21 in the Media Center on the 1st floor and several, including two designated for members of the public to review, will be in the Ceremonial Courtroom. The binders are for examination and note-taking only. NO PHOTOCOPYING OR PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE CONTENTS WILL BE ALLOWED.
The following still-current items are repeated from past updates:
3. ELECTRONIC DEVICES. The applicable rules regarding electronic devices are covered in the Guide for Journalists (see item #1 above). Please review these carefully. Please note that journalists may quietly use laptops and handheld devices to compose and transmit written reports in the courthouse and the courtroom, but NO PHOTOGRAPHY OR RECORDING OF ANY KIND WILL BE ALLOWED. Given that many members of the media will be attempting to enter the courthouse at roughly the same time every day, it is recommended that you avoid bringing equipment that you will not be allowed to use, as it will slow down the process of clearing security and reaching the courtroom in a timely fashion.
4. PRESS ROOM FACILITIES FOR VISITING JOURNALISTS. News organizations visiting from other cities: The Press Room on the 18th floor of the courthouse has room for visiting journalists to work. Some office space with desks is available on a drop-in basis, as well as tables with power outlets in the common area. There is also a small shared kitchen, as well as the food and drink options elsewhere in the courthouse detailed in the Guide for Journalists and on the court’s website.
And finally . . .
5. BUILDING HOURS ETC. The federal building opens to the public at 6:00 am. Court staff will not be in until 7:00 am or later. Upon arrival, a designated member of the court staff will open the Media Center on the 1st floor. A staff member will be on the 19th floor to check in members of the media for court no later than 8:00 am.
As always, if and only if this information, the court’s website and the Guide for Journalists leave any questions unanswered, please do not hesitate to email me over the weekend at usavbonds@cand.uscourts.gov and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Lynn Fuller
Media & Public Outreach Liaison
United States District Court
Northern District of California
(415)522-4051
Friday, February 25, 2011
Dear Members of the Media:
This email provides you with updates on planning for media access to the trial in USA v. Bonds beginning on March 21. This email is designed to anticipate and answer some of the questions you may have.
1. A new Guide for Journalists specifically for USA v. Bonds was posted on the court’s web page devoted to this case (/pages/412) on Friday, February 18, 2011. Members of the media should review the guide carefully before contacting the Media Liaison about anything other than reserving seats for the trial. New documents recently filed in the case are being posted almost daily on a file listing accessible via the above-referenced web page without PACER fees.
2. A court-issued media credential will be required to access the reserved seating for members of the media at trial. Without a credential, the trial will still be a public proceeding open to members of the public and the media but seating will not be guaranteed.
3. A court-issued credential for the trial is issued to the news organization, not the individual reporter; as such, it may be shared by different reporters in the same news organization.
4. MEDIA CREDENTIALS WILL NOT BE MAILED OUT. Instead, they will be issued beginning the first day of trial. If you do not attend the first day of trial (jury selection), the Media Liaison will hold your credential and issue it to you on the first day that you attend trial. In other words, if you would not otherwise attend jury selection, you should not come to the courthouse on March 21 for the sole purpose of obtaining your media credential. It will be waiting for you. The first day of trial will be devoted to jury selection and public and media access will be subject to special arrangements necessary to accommodate prospective jurors in the courtroom.
5. The court plans to provide for overflow seating in the Media Center or a separate courtroom, details TBA.
6. The applicable rules regarding electronic devices are covered in the Guide for Journalists (see item #1 above). Please review these carefully. Please note that journalists may quietly use laptops and handheld devices to compose and transmit written reports in the courthouse and the courtroom, but NO PHOTOGRAPHY OR RECORDING OF ANY KIND WILL BE ALLOWED. Given that many members of the media will be attempting to enter the courthouse at roughly the same time every day, it is recommended that you avoid bringing equipment that you will not be allowed to use, as it will slow down the process of clearing security and reaching the courtroom in a timely fashion.
7. News organizations visiting from other cities: The Press Room on the 18th floor of the courthouse has room for visiting journalists to work. Some office space with desks is available on a drop-in basis, as well as tables with power outlets in the common area. There is also a small shared kitchen, as well as the food and drink options elsewhere in the courthouse detailed in the Guide for Journalists and on the court’s website.
8. News organizations who have not yet reserved credentials: Those news organizations that received confirmation of one or more reserved seats for the trial in February 2009 from the court are eligible for the same number of seats for the trial in March 2011, but no credential will be issued to a particular news organization unless and until it contacts the court’s Media Liaison by email at usavbonds@cand.uscourts.gov to confirm plans to attend the trial. The email should state:
• name of the agency/news organization
• name(s) of the reporter(s) who will be attending
• number of seats requested
If you have already received an email or spoken by phone to the Media Liaison and been told your news organization has seats reserved, please DO NOT contact the Media Liaison to reconfirm.
9. The pretrial conference will be held Tuesday, March 1 at 1:30 pm. There will be several rows of seats reserved for members of the media and for sketch artists in the courtroom.
Any questions not answered here, in the Guide for Journalists or on the court’s website, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you,
Lynn Fuller
Media & Public Outreach Liaison
United States District Court
Northern District of California
(415)522-4051
February 14, 2011
Dear Members of the Media:
Many of you are making plans to cover the trial in USA v. Bonds beginning on March 21. This email is designed to answer some of the questions you may have.
1. A court-issued media credential will be required to access the reserved seating for members of the media at the trial. Without a credential, the trial will still be a public proceeding open to members of the public and the media but seating will not be guaranteed.
2. A court-issued credential for the trial is issued to the news organization, not the individual reporter; as such, it may be shared by different reporters in the same news organization.
3. The court plans to provide for overflow seating in the Media Center or a separate courtroom, details TBA.
4. News organizations that received confirmation of one or more reserved seats for the trial in February 2009 from the court are now eligible for the same number of seats for the trial in March 2011, but no credential will be issued to a particular news organization unless and until it contacts the court’s Media Liaison by email at usavbonds@cand.uscourts.gov to confirm plans to attend the trial. The email should state:
• name of the agency/news organization
• name(s) of the reporter(s) who will be attending
• number of seats requested
The following entities have already contacted the Media Liaison and are confirmed. Entities on this list SHOULD NOT contact the Media Liaison again:
Alameda Co Bar Assn
AP
Bay City News
Bloomberg
Comcast Sports
Courthouse News
Daily Journal
Fox News (national)
Fox News Radio
HBO
KNTV NBC11
KRON
NBC Network News
NY Daily News
NY times
SF Foghorn
Recorder
Thomson Reuters
Univision National News
Yahoo! Sports
All others, as well as any news organization new to the Bonds case since February 2009, should contact the Media Liaison per the directions above.
5. A media guide specifically for USA v. Bonds will be posted on the court’s web page devoted to this case (/pages/412) by the close of business February 18, 2011. Members of the media should wait to view that guide before contacting the Media Liaison about anything other than reserving seats for the trial. New documents recently filed in the case will be accessible via that page tomorrow without PACER fees as well.
6. All sketch artists previously issued credentials in 2009 have contacted the Media Liaison and will be receiving credentials for the trial in March.
Thank you,
Lynn Fuller
Media & Public Outreach Liaison
United States District Court
Northern District of California
(415)522-4051