Many new events have taken place since the August 9th email shared in the most recent article on MSG (Ret) Jeremy Brown was written.
Per Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure Rule 43(b)2, it is Jeremy Brown’s right to elect to hold his misdemeanor hearing either absent his presence at all or by video (Zoom) if he did not wish to appear in person.
The U.S. Government sought to oppose Brown’s right to elect not to appear in person, and the reasons which were given were largely focused upon the importance of an in-person assessment of Brown’s demeanor being necessary–despite Rule 43(b)2 expressly stating that for misdemeanor offenses punishable by one year or less, that a person has the right to choose not to even appear at all.
The motion to grant Brown a trial by Zoom was denied by Judge Mehta, even though the September 4th trial is a bench trial and not a jury trial….
