Hunter Biden (R), boy of U.S. President Joe Biden, leaves the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 26, 2023.
Ryan Collerd|AFP|Getty Images
A federal judge on Wednesday rejected a demand by Hunter Biden to have his very first court look on felony gun charges be carried out from another location through video conference.
Judge Christopher Burke bought the boy of President Joe Biden to appear face to face onOct 3 for his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware.
“Any other defendant would be required to attend his or her initial appearance in person. So too here,” the judge composed in a two-page order in favor of district attorneys, who challenged a video conference hearing for Hunter Biden.
Burke composed that he concurred with both Biden’s attorney and district attorneys that the 53- year-old California homeowner “should not receive special treatment in this matter.”
“Although initial appearances in criminal matters are often short in duration, our Court has always considered them to be important,” Burke composed.
He kept in mind that in 12 years on the federal bench, he “cannot recall ever having conducted an initial appearance other than in person” beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.
Biden recently was arraigned on 3 criminal counts associated with his ownership of a gun while being an illegal drug user.
His attorney Abbe Lowell in a filing Tuesday argued that a virtual court look would prevent an “unnecessary burden on government resources and the disruption to the courthouse and downtown areas” of Wilmington that would arise from his customer’s Secret Service security.
Lowell composed that Biden will plead innocent to the charges throughout his look, “and there is no reason why he cannot utter those two words by video conference.”
Biden “is not seeking any special treatment in making this request,” the defense attorney composed.
Prosecutors on Wednesday advised Burke to hold Biden’s arraignment face to face, arguing that he “should be treated no differently” than other accuseds.
Department of Justice unique counsel David Weiss because filing kept in mind that the court’s pandemic-related order licensing virtual procedures ended in June 2022.
Since then, accuseds’ very first court looks are “almost always held in-person,” Weiss composed.
The court hearing will be Biden’s initially given that late July when an anticipated plea offer in between him and Weiss’ workplace on criminal tax charges broke down under examination from another judge.
Biden wound up pleading innocent to those tax charges, a relocation that tossed into disagreement a different contract that would have enabled him to leave prosecution for a gun-related charge if he avoided of problem for 2 years.
Weiss in his filing Wednesday composed, “Although the federal government expects this case ought to be uncomplicated given that the celebrations have actually not reached an arrangement to fix this matter, our company believe an in-person case might be more favorable to resolving any unanticipated concerns that occur.
Biden, who has actually experienced drug dependency for many years, is charged with 2 counts of lying about his controlled substance usage in connection with his purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver.
The 3rd count implicates him of ownership of a gun by an individual who is an illegal drug user.
